Slytherin's Littlest Potter
by Konflickted
Summary: AU/Age Changes: Lily Potter was used to being the youngest, the most over looked, especially with a family like hers. Everyone had their own perfect counter part, except for her. When she finally arrives at Hogwarts, her life changes forever...
1. September Eve

Disc.: If you think I created the characters, send me a dollar! Or a cookie. LOL.

* * *

September Eve

Lily looked at her brothers frowning. She had her hands on her hips, looking like a childish version of Grandmother Weasley. James, thirteen, and Albus, twelve, were laughing hard as she stood in stocking feet and half dressed. They were holding hostage her shoes, high above her head while she stood there, her tee shirt and shorts.

"I'm telling Mum if you don't give me back my shoes," Lily whined.

"You're not going to get them back until you tell us where she hid our stuff," James smirked as he held her right shoe.

"I don't know!" Lily said. She kicked his shin, her foot doing no damage.

"I swear," Ginny snapped as she entered the room. "I'll box your ears if you two don't leave your sister be. Come along, Lily, get your shoes on so that I can help you with your hair."

Lily jerked her shoes on her feet, sticking her tongue out at the two older brothers of hers as she skipped out of the room to join her mother in the kitchen. Lily sat down in one of the chairs as her mother started to braid her hair into two perfect braids. She grinned at her father as he passed by, his arms full of miscellaneous laundry he had found throughout the house.

"I swear, I don't see how the boys manage not to cost us a fortune in replacement of their school stuff, "Harry said as he dumped it on the edge of the table. He stopped and watched his wife and daughter. James had turned out to look a lot like Ginny, Albus looked just like Harry, but it was Lily who looked like a perfect blend of the two. He grinned as Ginny looked up at him.

"I swear, this is the last time I'm doing her hair," Ginny said sheepishly. "I just hate that I'm never home and now she's going to go off and be at school."

"No need to explain," Harry laughed. He knew how she felt about their youngest heading off that year. It was going to be odd not having at least one child under foot all of the time. Not that Ginny would know consistently. She had been gone on and off much of the time, playing Quidditch. At one point, they had struggled in their marriage but thankfully had worked through it.

"I swear to God Ron, if you don't quit I am going to send you to your mother," Hermione said shaking her head as the two entered through the kitchen. Ginny hid her laugh under the guise of having to stoop down to pick up a hair tie for Lily.

"I just think you should consider it," Ron said as he followed. He waved a little wave to his sister and brother-in-law as he headed straight to the refrigerator.

"Ginny, explain to your brother how uncomfortable pregnancy is!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

"Uh-oh," Ginny groaned. "Lily, why don't you go on and check to see if your brothers have cleaned their room properly. Go along with her, kids."

Rose and Hugo followed quickly, their cheeks blazing. Ron had wanted more children; Hermione had embraced her career at the Ministry. It was something that had been a constant battle between the two and everyone had heard the discussion a million times. Ron was never going to win, but still he continued.

"So, did Rose and Hugo get their letters?" Harry interjected as Hermione looked as if she was reaching for her wand.

"This morning," Hermione said distractedly looking at him.

"Do you need me to take them all to Diagon Ally?" Harry offered. He knew that of the four of them, he was the one who could get off of work easiest.

"Oh, would you mind?" Hermione asked brightly. "I mean, I know how much you do for us, but I do really hate to think of waiting to the last minute and panicking."

"I can take them," Ron snapped. He sprayed the counter with the chocolate cake he had been eating.

"Please tell me that is not Lily's cake," Hermione gasped, realizing Ron was eating some cake that he'd not asked to eat.

"Oh, no. I've not made it yet," Ginny said grinning. "With her birthday not being until the day before they leave for school, I've not really been in a rush."

"What she means is you're waiting for Mum to offer," Ron snorted. "And thank God because this cake is awful."

"Hey, I made that," Harry exclaimed.

"Didn't stop you from eating it, Ronald," Hermione said crossing her arms. "You're going to eat yourself into obesity."

"Quit nagging," Ron said quickly. Hermione's eyes took on a look of intense anger.

"So, what time should I pick up Rose and Hugo tomorrow?" Harry asked.

"How's noon?" Ron offered.

"Sounds like a plan," Harry said as he nodded to the women. "Ron, will you help me out in the garage?"

"What? Oh, yeah, sure," Ron said as he put the plate in the sink and followed the other man out into the garage. The two hung out in the garage a bit, talking.

"You know, she's never going to agree to another baby, Ron," Harry told him. Ron sighed and nodded.

"The thing is, I want another kid," Ron muttered. "Mum and Dad had seven of us and it's really just too quiet at home. You'll see this year when Lily's off at school. The silence is deafening."

* * *

Lily swung her feet nervously as she listened to the others talk about what they were going to do at Hogwarts when they returned. James and Rose were going on and on about this year being the first year that they were allowed to go to Hogsmead. Hugo and Albus hung on their every word, knowing that they'd be given their permission the following year. Lily listened carefully, trying to pick up on any knowledge that would give her the heads up on her first year.

"We were worried Lily wouldn't get her letter," James teased as he played with a ping pong ball. His mother and father had refused to allow him to toss about a snitch, though he was seeker of the Gryffindor team. His parents never told him why it annoyed them so much, especially with both parents being so big into Quidditch.

"Wondered if she was a squib," Albus teased. Lily stuck her tongue out at them as Hugo and Rose laughed.

"I am not a squib," Lily declared. "And when I get my own wand I'll prove it."

"Will you now?" James smirked.

"I'll blast your stupid ping pong ball into a million pieces!" Lily said jumping up.

"Well, I guess the sorting hat will decide it during the sorting trials, ultimately," James said lazily as he tossed the ball up in the air and caught it deftly.

"S-sorting trials?" Lily asked as she looked at the four of them worriedly. Rose hid behind a book while the boys nodded.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Hugo tossed at her casually. "God, if you were my little sister, I would have warned you."

"Maybe we shouldn't tell her," Albus said with mock concern. "I'd hate to make her nervous."

"No, tell me!" Lily begged.

"Oh, Lily, it's awful," James said shaking his head with a dark look on his face. "They make sure that you can do spells and stuff."

"B-but," Lily said quietly. "I don't know any spells."

"I'm sure they'll go easy on you," Albus said quietly. He glanced at James. "That is, if you're nice to us. We can explain it to them for you and maybe even teach you a little."

"Yeah, but first," James said yawning. "I could really go for some of those cookies Grandma Weasley sent over."

"She sent you cookies, too?" Hugo said shrugging. "Here I was thinking we were special."

"Mum and Dad said that those cookies aren't supposed to be eaten before dinner," Lily whined.

"If you don't want our help," Albus said shrugging. Lily jumped up off the bed shaking her head.

"No, I'm going," Lily sighed as she left the room. Rose snapped the book down and shot James a look.

"You guys are terrible!" Rose hissed at them. James grinned.

"Hey, you can get in on it," James said. Rose shook her head.

"Huh-uh, no way. I don't want my hands on this when it blows up in your faces," Rose said. Hugo shot her a look.

"Goodie-two-shoes," Hugo teased, prompting Rose to punch his arm hard. He made a face and rubbed his arm. "No fair, you're older."

"Oh, and like you guys aren't older than Lily?" Rose smirked as she punched him again for good measure.

* * *

Lily hesitated in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her mother and aunt sitting at the table sharing a pot of tea together. Lily wondered if she should just sneak in and snatch the cookies undetected. It would have been easier if she had their cloak, but James and Albus never let her play with it. Plus, with her mother's sixth sense, the woman could always tell when they were using it and usually got on to the boys for being so sneaky.

"Lily, quit lurking in the doorway," Ginny said without turning to look at her youngest daughter. The auburn haired girl slipped silently into the kitchen and walked towards her mother.

"How'd you know I was there?" Lily asked curiously. Ginny turned and grinned at her blue eyed daughter, pointing at the mirror on the wall that showed a perfect view of the hallway. Lily blushed.

"What do you need?" Ginny asked her gently.

"Cookies," Lily said rolling her eyes. "The brothers sent me down here to get cookies."

"Those cookies are for after dinner," Ginny reminded her. Lily nodded.

"I know, but they said they'd not help me ready for the sorting trials if I didn't get them," Lily whined. Ginny cringed, not liking the whining tone that her daughter sometimes took.

"Lily, don't whine," Ginny chided.

"Sorry, Mum," Lily said quickly.

"Lily, your brothers are teasing you," Hermione assured her. "There's no sorting trial or anything. You'll line up with the other first years, sit on the stool, and then the Sorting Hat will be placed on your head. It will tell you where you belong."

"Sounds fairly simple," Lily said as she allowed a smile to shine through her previously worried and cloudy face.

"It is," Ginny said sipping her tea. "You shouldn't let them get to you. Having six brothers, all older, I got my fair share of misinformation."

"James and Albus are ten times more misinforming than Uncle Ron ever could be!" Lily exclaimed. The two women laughed.

"Uncle Ron was only misinforming because he was terribly misinformed by Uncle Fred and Uncle George growing up," Ginny grinned.

"So, that's it then? A hat?" Lily confirmed. The women both nodded. "And the hat, is it ever wrong?"

"Er, well, no," Hermione said slowly. "It ultimately puts you where you belong, even if you don't realize it at the moment. Heck, it wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but it knew I was a Gryffindor through and through."

"You'll do fine," Ginny assured her as the men returned from the garage.

"What will she do fine with?" Harry asked curiously as he looked at his youngest offspring.

"The sorting," Ginny answered.

"Have your brothers started trying to mess with your head?" Ron asked knowingly. "George and Fred were downright evil about it with me. You never could trust half of what they said. Hell, you can't trust half of what George says now. Always the prankster."

"Speaking of pranksters," Hermione said. "It's awfully quiet upstairs. I hope Albus and Hugo aren't up to their plotting ways again. I swear if I got another letter from McGonagall last year, I would have hauled them both home by their ears."

"It's all in good fun," Ron said receiving a glare from his wife. "C'mon Hermione. You have to admit some of the stuff they came up was ingenious."

"They'd be better suited spending that energy focusing on their marks," Hermione said.

"After all, OWL's are just three years away for them," the other three adults finished for her jokingly. The four adults laughed as if it was some funny joke and Lily rolled her eyes, backing out of the kitchen slowly.

Lily ran up the stairs to the bedrooms and burst into the room like an explosion. The boys looked up, smirking, while Rose buried herself deeper in her book. Lily looked at them defiantly as she walked over to James, punching him as hard as she could in the arm. Repeating the same action to Hugo and Albus before either boy realized what she was doing.

"You lied to me! There's no such thing as a sorting trial!" Lily shrieked at them. "Mum and Aunt Hermione just told me. You guys are so mean!"

"Ouch, Lily," James said frowning and rubbing his arm. "I don't understand why you have to hit so hard."

"Because I have nitwits for brothers," Lily said. She turned and looked at Rose, her hands on her hips. "And you, _Rose_, you knew and didn't say anything!"

"Hey," Rose defended. "I am not about to get in between you and your brothers."

"Some cousin you are," Lily said pouting as she crossed her arms and plopped down on the bed.

"Don't be like that," James said shaking his head. "It was all in good fun."

"I'll get you back," Lily threatened. The boys laughed and ignored once again the small girl whose eleventh birthday was creeping closer, the eve of September first.

* * *

"Ok, everyone here?" Harry asked as he quickly counted the varying shades of red and raven haired munchkins in his care. Five very annoyed looking preteen and teenagers looked at him, hating having been shuttled around Diagon Ally like a bunch of sheep.

"Dad, we Rose and I can go and get the books," James suggested. "I bet Lily's itching to get her wand and you know how Ollivander gets nervous when there's a large crowd."

"Hm," Harry contemplated before handing over the lists. "The four of you stick together while Lily and I go get her wand. We'll be along shortly."

Lily grabbed her father's hand and practically dragged the poor man down the street to the subdued looking wander maker's shop. The bell chimed as the two entered the dusty little shop. An ancient looking wizard hobbled slowly, adjusting his wire rimmed glasses.

"Harry Potter!" the man cheered, startling Lily. His eyes went from the older wizard to Lily's little face. "This must be little Lily Potter. Eleven already and ready for Hogwarts?"

"I will be before school starts," Lily said proudly holding up her acceptance letter.

"We're in the market for her wand," Harry said to the kind-eyed man. Ollivander nodded and started digging around.

"I remember when you first came in here for your wand, Harry, as if it was yesterday," Ollivander said. Lily tried to stay interested as Mr. Ollivander broke into a long winded story about wands but excitement of getting her own wand overshadowed the desire to hear about anything else. Harry checked his watch as Lily started on her third dozen failed attempts.

"The wand chooses the witch, Daddy," Lily reminded him.

"Too right, missy," Ollivander said. He picked up a box and handed it to Lily. He smiled at her and nodded. "I think this will be the one."

Hesitantly, Lily opened the box and pulled out the rather small wand. It was eight and a quarter inches long, cherry wood, with a unicorn core. Immediately, it warmed in her hand and Lily's face brightened. Harry smiled, knowing all too well that feeling. He remembered the day his wand chose him, as if it was just yesterday.

"Now, its brother isn't owned by some evil witch or wizard that we know of, is it?" Harry asked hesitantly. Ollivander grinned and shook his head.

"To my knowledge, no," Ollivander assured him. "It's a good size wand for someone as petite as Lily."

"I'll grow," Lily defended. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Let's go find your brothers," Harry said as he paid for the wand. Lily reluctantly placed it back in its box, knowing that she couldn't do magic until she was of the age of majority. Lily and Harry headed back toward Flourish and Blots to look for the other and to finish up the school shopping. Harry was thankful they'd done the clothes shopping first because he was ready to kill James and Albus when he found them not at the book store.

"Rose, keep an eye on Lily while I head down to George's store and find those knuckleheads," Harry said sighing. Rose nodded, never looking up from her book. Bored, Lily wandered around the dusty book store, wondering why dust and magic seemed to go together. She bumped into someone, falling back.

"A Weasley?" a cold, quiet voice spoke. Lily glanced up to see a pale, blond boy with the palest eyes sneering down at her. Lily shook her head.

"I'm a Potter," Lily said as the boy's father stepped beside him. Neither the man nor the boy moved to help her up.

"Scorpius, what's going on here?" Draco asked quietly.

"Nothing," Scorpius said. "She just ran into me."

"Malfoy," Harry said as he stepped behind his daughter.

"Ah, Potter," Draco said. "I've just met your youngest. She is your youngest, is she not?"

"Lily, go join your brothers," Harry said. Lily opened her mouth to protest but the stern look from her father sent her scuttling towards the others, all who had seemed to have halted their misbehavior to watch them.

"Scorpius, go wait with your mother," Draco said calmly. Lily stood on her tip-toes to watch as the two men talked in low tones. Harry jerked his head and walked away without another word and the kids tried to gage what the scowl on his face meant.

The kids had never been happier to be home than that moment. Harry was in a foul mood and the kids knew it. Without complaining, each of the kids headed away from the kitchen with their school belongings and stayed out of sight. They didn't dare make a peep, not that Harry would be angry or violent, but they knew it took a lot to get him riled up like Mr. Malfoy obviously had.

By dinner, things were calm and Harry was back to his old, joking self. The kids collectively breathed a sigh of relief and eased up. Whatever it was, Harry seemed to be over it. Lily looked at her father, still concerned that he had been so obviously upset.

"Lily?" her mother's voice interrupted her thoughts. Lily jerked and looked at her, startled. Her brothers laughed.

"Yes, ma'am?" Lily replied.

"Aunt Hermione was just asking if you looked forward to your birthday party next Sunday," Ginny said. Lily grinned.

"Yes! I can't wait to turn eleven," Lily said brightly. "And the best part? I get to go to HOGWARTS the next day."

"Ugh! School!" the boys groaned. They looked at Rose with contempt who shared the same excitement about going to school as Lily was voicing.

"Trust me," Rose said. "Her excitement is all her."

* * *

Lily hadn't slept the night before her birthday; instead she spent the night packing and unpacking her truck in utter excitement. She knew that her birthday arriving meant that she was only that much closer to the heading off to Hogwarts. It was all she could do to keep from running into her parents' bedroom at midnight.

Though she was not a bookworm like her cousin Rose, Lily had already devoured her text books. She loved magic and all things magical. It was one of the many reasons that she adored going to her grandmother's house. Mrs. Weasley had a completely magical house. Even though her grandfather adored muggles, the house part was one-hundred percent magical.

Lily hesitated as she went to unpack her trunk again. She listened to the familiar sounds of her father heading downstairs to the kitchen to start up the coffee and her brothers already bickering about who'd get to kitchen first. She grinned and jumped out in front of her brothers and beat them ever so slightly to the kitchen. James ruffled his hair to look messier and Albus rolled his eyes before snatching James' ping pong ball.

"You only one because we let you," James told her as he tugged on one of her braids. He laughed. "Happy birthday little sister."

Lily grinned. She was eleven years old! Excitement threatened to spill over most of the morning and she could hardly sit still in the living room while her mother and father debated the best way to travel to the Borough.

"Floo is too dirty," Ginny said shaking her head.

"Flying?" Harry suggested hopefully. Ginny shot him a look.

"Think again," Ginny said. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll apparate with Albus and Lily," Harry said. "You take James."

Within seconds, the five of them were heading up the path to the Burroughs. The Elder Mrs. Weasley was already at the back door, her arms spread wide open. Lily, James, and Albus broke free and raced towards their grandmother. One minute they were neck and neck, the next Lily was face down in the dusty path crying. James and Albus looked back at her, slowing to a stop. They headed back to see she had tripped over nothing.

"Oh, honey," Grandmother Weasley said brushing the dirt from the girl's dress. "You're filthy."

"I swear, she's so clumsy," Albus whispered to James, causing his parents to glare at him. Lily punched him in the face.

"Lily!" the adults exclaimed.

"He TRIPPED me!" Lily shrieked. She dove to hit him again but Harry held her back. The commotion outside brought the whole family outside in droves and they stared as Harry struggled to hold his daughter back. Lily, despite her small size, had a strength that rivaled her brothers in strength.

"Al's bleeding," Ginny said as she conjured up a rag and held it to his face.

Once everything calmed down and quieted down, the kids were forced to apologize. Lily begrudgingly apologized for punching Albus in the face and he said he was sorry he accidentally tripped her. Lily glared at him a bit more before she spent the rest of the time being center stage of the family, celebrating her birthday with her entire family surrounding her.


	2. Sorting Event

AN: AU/Ages are tweaked to fit the story. This could probably have been broken up into a few chapters (one for each of the breaks), but I'm too lazy. Thank you for those who have read and reviewed.

Disc.: Only borrowing on the characters… I did not create.

* * *

Sorting Events

"I swear to Merlin that you purposely do this every year!" Ginny snapped at James as she glanced at her watch. It was nearly eleven and they had just arrived at King's Crossing. James shot his mother a look as he picked up the pace and pushed through the barrier ahead of her. Lily had already begun loading her trunk on the train, struggling to get the heavy trunk in place. A person swooped down and hoisted her trunk. Lily looked up to see the same boy that had knocked her down in the bookstore. She went to say thank you when James elbowed his way past the boy, knocking him aside.

"Potters do_ NOT_ need the help of Malfoys," James told Lily in no uncertain terms and snatched his sister by the hand, leading her away from the compartment she had chosen. Lily glanced back at the scowling boy before she turned her attention to her brother.

"He was only helping me," Lily hissed as she jerked her hand from her brother's grasp. She went to say more but her mother gathered her up in a bone crushing hug.

"I can't believe my baby's going off to Hogwarts," Ginny said kissing her cheek.

"Mum, please," Lily whined as she struggled.

"Let me hold you one more minute, Lily," Ginny begged. "I won't see you again until Christmas."

"If you're lucky to survive," Albus coughed. Ginny shot her middle son a look before she finally released her daughter.

"Now, I want you two to keep an eye on Lily," Ginny said quickly as the clock chimed eleven. "She's your baby sister and you need to keep an eye out for her. Do not tease her too much and try to be nice, ok?"

"Yes Mum," the three said. Lily endured on final kiss from her mother, a hug from her aunt and uncle, and yet another last kiss from her mother before Lily was allowed to sprint to the train as it begun to roll away. Lily sought out her brothers and cousins, squeezing into their compartment. Lily felt claustrophobic after a while and decided to wander around a bit.

"Behave," James warned her as she left. Lily stuck her tongue out at him as she closed the compartment door.

Lily wandered around for a bit, aimlessly looking here and there. She didn't know anyone really, so she didn't chit chat with many people as she walked. Mainly she just looked at the other students and got a feel for people. She, for as loud as she could be, sometimes became really quiet when she was taking things in and absorbing her surroundings. She aimlessly wandered forward through the cars, not really paying mind to the different cliques here and there.

"You're in the wrong car," a voice said from behind her. Lily frowned as her eyes fell on the older boy from earlier.

"I didn't realize that they were assigned, aside from the prefect's car," Lily said as she looked up at him. He was tall, like James, and he held for her the same annoyance and contempt that James sometimes held for her when she was being particularly annoying.

"Officially, no," Scorpius said as he opened the door back the way she had come. "But unofficially, yes. This would be the Slytherin car. You are Gryffindor, obviously. Scamper back to your fellow lion heads."

"I think not," Lily said bravely as she attempted to continue down the corridor.

"I think so, sweetheart," Scorpius said in a condescending tone as a thick boned girl stepped out of a compartment, before Lily, blocking her path. "See, as Elena Goyle would be glad to explain to you, we Slytherins take pride in keeping the trash out."

"Then why are you here?" Lily retorted without thought. A stain of heat rose to Scorpius' cheeks but he maintained his composure.

"Your comebacks are quicker than your brothers," Scorpius said. "Let's hope your brains remain sharper and you remove yourself from Slytherin territory."

Lily went to say something more but James appeared with a frown and dragged her out of the compartment by her arm. Lily had to admit, she was glad that he had removed her from the situation, though she would never say it. She had her mother's spunk and stubbornness, of which was both a blessing and a curse. She never was able to back down from a fight. James berated her about being where she had no business being.

"I'm sorry," Lily said simply as James stopped talking to take a breath. He sighed and smiled, yanking one of her braids gently.

"Just watch yourself around Slytherins," James begged. "They are sneaky, underhanded, devious witches and wizards that are dark, evil, vile excuses for life."

"Gee, James," Lily murmured. "You'd think they'd not be allowed to school with the normal folks, as evil as you make them seem."

"Just be careful, will you?" James begged. "Now come on and get changed. We're nearly there."

* * *

Lily watched her brothers head-off to the horseless carriages while she joined the other first year students following the monstrously large game keeper and teacher for the Care of Magical creatures. It was easy to follow him as he towered over the first years like a giant oak tree. In teams of four, the first years climbed aboard the tiny wooden boats and started the slow ride from the shore to the castle across the lake.

"What house are you in?" a boy asked as he crossed his arms against the chill of the lake. Lily looked at him and shrugged.

"I guess we won't know until the sorting, right?" she replied. He nodded.

"Officially, no," he said. He extended his hand. "I'm Shale Zabini. I already know I'm going to be in Slytherin. How could I not be, you know?"

"Lily," Lily replied shaking his hand. "Lily Potter." Shale Zabini's face fell slightly and he slowly retracted his hand.

"You're a Potter?" he asked. Lily nodded and Zabini leaned away from her slightly. "You'd be a Gryffindor, surely. Just like your brothers and cousins, and all who came before you." Lily made a face at him.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Lily countered. Zabini shrugged and focused elsewhere in the boat. Lily sighed and the four sat in silence. Lily couldn't help but be impressed with her first view of the castle, its menacing shape looming against the starry sky. The first years queued up and were lead by Professor Longbottom into the foyer just outside of the Great Hall.

Lily glanced nervously to her family sitting and talking loudly with the other Gryffindors at their table. They barely glanced her way as she and the others were marched forward in a straight, tight line towards the front of the Great Hall. Head Mistress McGonagall stood there her eyes scanning over the obviously nervous first years. They huddled together so as not to be picked off from the pack.

The fateful stool was brought forth and placed atop it was a very badly burned and worn brown hat. Lily and the others stared at it with great curiosity. As if alive, it began to sing. The song, quick and filled with warning and innuendo spun Lily's head into a dizzying state of confusion. Professor Longbottom stepped forward with the list, winking at Lily before he begun with the top of the list. One by one, the forty first years were whittled down to a handful, and Lily's name was called. Lily glanced to her brothers, hoping for a sign of support, but they were laughing and carrying on with another kid at their table. She sighed as she sat upon the stool and the hat was placed upon her head.

It was dark, the hat being so much larger than Lily's head slipped over her eyes. It smelled a bit of burnt leather and of smoke, and there was a hint of sweat and blood. Lily thought that perhaps the hat would just sit upon her head and people would laugh because not only was she small for her age, the hat wouldn't place her in a house at all. Panic welled up in her as she thought that she really was brought here by mistake and that she really was a squib like her brothers teased.

"I see a thirst for greatness here, Miss Potter, a desire to prove your worth and to be known," the hat finally whispered so that only Lily could hear. "I see pure talent, a disregard for norms, and a bit of wit and cunningness, a will to do whatever it takes to succeed. There is a drive to be your own woman. I know just where to put you."

"You do?" whispered Lily.

"Slytherin," the hat shouted to the Great Hall. A deafening silence fell over the Great Hall as Lily slowly removed the hat and handed it to the stunned Professor Longbottom.

"No!" exclaimed the two male Potters, standing up from their seats. "She's a Gryffindor! She's a POTTER for Merlin's sake!"

"Misters Potter, sit down at once," Professor McGonagall exclaimed. The two boys sat down immediately and Lily looked up at the woman uncertainly. "Miss Potter, please go join your house."

It was the longest walk Lily had ever made. She could feel the eyes of the patrons of the Great Hall drilling into her as she made her way to the Slytherin table. She barely took her eyes off the floor, just sat at the first empty seat. She didn't listen to the fair few left get sorted, just stared down at her hands and tried to figure out what had just happened. Shale Zabini sat down next to her.

"Welcome to Gryffindor hell," Shale teased. "Honestly didn't see that coming."

"Me neither," Lily said quietly as the headmistress addressed the student. Lily listened carefully as Professor McGonagall went over the rules for students, reminding them that Mr. Filch would be ensure the rules were followed. She followed up with the standard adage that the Forbidden Forrest was off limits. Lily couldn't help but giggle when she saw her brothers both slump down a bit with their cousin, Hugo, when this was mentioned.

Lily glanced at the others Slytherins nervously as she doled out a little bit of food on her plate. Her appetite was practically nonexistent as she felt as if eyes were on her. She glanced at Shale's plate and wondered if he would actually be able to eat that much food. A third year who was sitting across from Lily practically stared her down. Lily glanced at her a few times before the girl finally spoke.

"You're a pure blood, aren't you?" the girl asked accusingly. "How far back?"

"I don't know," Lily said frowning.

"Ease up, Nott," Scorpius said. Lily's eyes left the glaring girl to land on his face, several seats down from her, falling on Scorpius' bored looking face. "Potter's one of us now."

"We all know she belongs with her brothers and the rest of them over there in Gryffindor," Nott said haughtily. "This is obviously a mistake."

"Is not," Lily piped up. The girl, Nott, looked from Scorpius to Lily's little face.

"You're dripping with innocence," Nott accused.

"No, I'm not," Lily said a little more forcibly. A smile curled Nott's lips and Lily felt a little nervous behind that smile that the older girl sent her way.

"We'll see," Nott said quickly before returning to eating her food. Lily swallowed nervously before returning to her own food. Before long the tables were cleared and the students were full. The prefects stood and started to lead the students from the Great Hall to the various common rooms. Lily walked slowly with Shale Zabini, following the Slytherin prefects until they had descended into the bowels of the school. Lily glanced back, stealing one last look at her family, as they parted for good.

The Slytherin common room was cool and damp, cast in a green glow from the lamps surrounding the room. One large, thick plate glass section of the wall gave an unusual view of the lake, and Lily was almost eager to break ranks with the four other first year Slytherin girls to see the Mermaids and other sea creatures. She was certain that she was the only one her family for generations who had this opportunity to see the Slytherin common room, her house common room. Shale waved at Lily as he followed the boys off to the left of the low, stone ceiling common room. Lily walked into the first year girls' dormitory.

"I'm Kate Rosier," a girl with dark hair said as she extended her hand to Lily. Lily shook it carefully. "Must be heck of a shock to you, isn't it, being sorted here. I mean, my mother and father would have had a fit if I was sorted in Gryffindor. Our family has been a Slytherin family for generations."

"Have you?" Lily asked. The girl nodded.

"Don't let people tell you that you don't belong here," Kate told her. "Everyone is placed in the house they belong in for a reason. Whatever the reason, you're not a Gryffindor. You're a Slytherin."

"I think it's a mistake," another girl piped up from her bed. Lily glanced over at the light haired girl who was already changing into her sleep clothes. "There is no reason that she should be here. Her family's strictly Gryffindor."

"Well, I'm here," Lily said as she jerked her shoes and socks off and rummaged through her trunk to find a pair of shorts and a tee shirt to sleep in. She jerked off her clothes and dressed in her sleepwear, ignoring the other girls. Lily frowned as she pulled back the green velvet bead curtains, thinking that it really had to be a mistake. Her whole family was in Gryffindor. What would her parents say when they found out? What if they made her come home? Lily nearly started to cry. Instead, she climbed into her bed and pulled the drapes closed around her.

Lily did not sleep well that night, worry and anxiety setting in as the shock wore off. She tossed and turned, wondering and worrying if her parents were going to be disappointed in her. She knew that they were reassuring with Albus the previous year and his worries about being a Slytherin, but ultimately she knew that everyone expected the Potter children to be Gryffindors. Their parents, Ginny and Harry, were as were their grandparents on both side were. It was just the way it was supposed to be. Sighing, Lily shoved her covers back and jerked open the curtains. She slipped her feet into her slippers and headed out into the common room with her potions book.

Slipping into the chair closest to the fire, she didn't notice that she wasn't alone in the common room. Another person was lost in his own thoughts, sitting in the shadows. Startled slightly, he watch from the shadows as Lily settled in with her book until her eye lids closed and she fell asleep. Moving swiftly, the boy walked from the shadows, draping one of the Slytherins' famous green and silver woven blankets over her before retreating back to his own quarters.

* * *

Lily glanced at her reflection in the mirror the next morning, her school uniform perfectly pressed and in place. Her fingers touched the silver and green details. She brushed her hair from her face and pulled on her bag. She joined the other first year Slytherins, huddled together and looking mighty small compared to the older Slytherins heading out of the common room. Lily felt the icy dousing feel as she walked straight through the Bloody Baron.

"God, this place creeps me out," Lily shivered. Shale fell into step next to her, laughing.

"You're the third person I've seen walk through him," Shale said as the two of them headed out the portrait hole together.

"Thanks for warning me," Lily said smirking. She shivered again, this time out of coldness. "Is it going to always be this cold down here?"

"You'll get used to it," a voice said. She looked up as Scorpius passed by her. He raised an eyebrow at her, almost in a skeptical contempt. She watched as he faced forward and continued down the hall.

"Merlin, my legs could never keep up with that guy," Shale said shaking his head. "I'm way too short for a boy."

"Look at me," Lily laughed. "We're about the same height."

"Yeah, but it's ok for you to be the height of a house elf," Shale said frustrated. He shook his head again. "I hope that I get taller eventually. My dad was tall."

"Both my parents are relatively normal sized, and my brothers are tall," Lily said. "And I am not as short as a house elf!"

"Well, maybe not, but still," Shale said scratching the back of his head a moment.

"I'm starved," Kate said, pushing through the two. "Come on, let's eat and get our schedules."

Kate, Shale, and Lily entered the Great Hall and immediately Lily was separated from the two other Slytherins, accosted by her brothers. Lily looked at them in surprise. She hadn't really expected them to corral her away from the Slytherin heard quite yet to berate her for being the odd child out and being sorted Slytherin. James looked tired and held a letter in his hand. He talked to her in low, hushed tones.

"Mum and Dad say you have to stay where you were sorted, Lily," James told her quietly, waving the note in her face.

"Of course I'm staying where I was sorted," Lily said indignantly. "I was sorted there for a reason. For whatever reason, I'm Slytherin material and not Gryffindor material. Dad told Albus that he'd be ok way with him being Slytherin. Why wouldn't he be ok with me?"

"He would… is, it's only…" James said. "I can't look out for you now."

"No one asked you to," Lily said frowning.

"I'm your big brother. It's my job to watch out for you and Al," James said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'm hungry," Lily told him. "I'm heading back to my house table. Have a good day, James."

"Just be careful, will you?" James insisted. Lily rolled her eyes again but nodded, pulling free of her brother and leaving him standing there. Lily didn't look back at him, instead took her seat between Kate and Shale. She piled on the scrambled eggs and toast, grinning at Shale who had three times as much on his own plate.

Professor Perkins walked by the first years; his gaze cold and vacant as he handed out the schedules to the first years. They were happy to have Flying Lessons after lunch, caring very little that they had Potions with Professor Perkins first thing after breakfast, followed by History of Magic, Charms, and Herbology. After lunch, they had flying lessons, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. The first years inhaled their food and they abandoned their table loudly, intruding on the conversations of the others as they rowdily headed out of the Great Hall, causing the other Slytherins to frown at the their newest members.

"Someone needs to explain the behaviors fitting of a Slytherin," Nott said pointedly to the rest of the group. The others nodded.

* * *

Lily yawned in potions, thinking that class couldn't be more boring. She was wrong as she joined her other classmates in History of Magic, and started to doze off a bit. Shale laughed as Lily's head jerked when ancient Professor Binns in his ghostly ways touched Lily's shoulder. Lily kicked him under the desk they shared, causing him to yelp. Kate giggled and the three of them earned the first detention of the new school year, to be served on Friday night. The three groaned in protest but Professor Binns continued to teach as if nothing else had continued.

Charms with Professor Artemis was with the first years of Gryffindors, and Lily couldn't help but feel a little awkward at the fact that she was sharing a classroom with the house that by all practical means should have been her house. She glanced over the ten Gryffindor students and for the first time ever she felt judgmental towards them. They didn't seem as good in her eyes as her fellow Slytherins. She slumped down in her chair, suddenly feeling guilty for being that way. She knew that realistically she wasn't superior to them, but she felt that twinge of doubt that maybe she had more rights to be there than some of the other students. It was those feelings that made her feel guilty.

She remained quiet as she walked with Kate and Shale from the Charms classroom to the Greenhouses. Professor Longbottom was there at the door to greet them and he smiled at Lily warmly, having seen her as a child outside of the school grounds. This was not unnoticed by the other students in her house. Her sassy roommate from the night before, Darla Goyle smirked and scooted closer to Lily, Kate, and Shale. She waited until Professor Longbottom had headed back to the front of the room and had started teaching before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Now is as good of a time as any to prove your loyalty to the house of Slytherin," Darla said. Lily looked at the others in her year. They all averted their eyes, and Lily knew she was on her own.

"I have to prove my loyalty?" Lily said frowning. Darla nodded holding out a tuber root for Lily. She looked at it, uncertainly.

"Getting detention for talking in History of Magic is not proof," Darla challenged menacingly. Lily knew that she was going to regret it. She took the heavy, potato shaped root that they were supposed to be planting in the large clay pots. Without another word, Lily threw it as hard as she could at a Gryffindor boy. The root bounced with a thud off the back of his head and the Slytherins all snickered, looking back at their pots of dirt.

"Hey!" the Gryffindor boy cried out, rubbing the back of his head as he looked around. He glared at the Slytherin group, but aside from their giggles and snickers, he couldn't pin it on any one Slytherin student. He turned back to his own pot and ignored the Slytherins. Darla raised an eyebrow at Lily and without another word; Lily snatched another tuber root out of the basket and threw it with all her might at the Gryffindor boy again. It bounced off his head and landed in the middle of the table.

"Lily Potter," Professor Longbottom said loudly, startling the hum of the class as they worked. "Detention."

"But," Lily protested. Professor Longbottom shook his head.

"Friday," Professor Longbottom told her.

"I already have detention Friday," Lily told him. He wasn't able to mask the look of surprise and disappointment.

"Saturday then, straight after breakfast," Professor Longbottom said. "And ten points from Slytherin."

Lily slumped down in her chair and spent the rest of the lesson focus on her pot of dirt and the tuber roots. She frowned at the dirt pot, but didn't say or do anything further. The last thing she wanted to do was get any more detentions. She had, already, surpassed her brothers in how early they had gotten their first detentions. She groaned and slunk further in her chair, hoping that the class would speed by and that she could finally just go to lunch. She was starved, which was the general consensus between Kate, Shale, and her.

"Oi, Potter, come here," a voice called out as the three went to open the Great Hall doors. Shale and Kate stopped to look as Lily turned to see Celeste Nott from the night before and Scorpius Malfoy heading toward them.

"Scram," Nott snapped at Shale and Kate, who scuttled away terrified by the bigger, stronger girl.

"Yes?" Lily said as she tried to stand taller, still barely breaching the top of Scorpius' shoulder.

"We need to have a little talk with you about your behavior," Nott said to Lily in a very intimidating voice.

"What of it?" Lily asked as she fought to keep the shaking fear from her voice.

"You have already managed to score yourself two detentions and lost our house 10 points," Scorpius said as he crossed his arms. "This is the first official day of the new school year and you aren't behaving very Slytherin."

"What are you talking about?" Lily said crossly. "I hit a Gryffindor twice in the back of the head with a tuber root." Scorpius smirked as Nott disappeared behind her hands as she shook with laughter. She couldn't handle it and entered the Great Hall.

"Why did you hit the Gryffindor?" Scorpius asked amused.

"Because, Darla Goyle told me to, and anyways, he's a Gryffindor," Lily defended. "Isn't that what we do? Hate Gryffindors because they are Gryffindors."

"You're sadly mistaken," Scorpius said smirking at the girl. "We don't go around hitting Gryffindors in the head with tuber roots in the middle of class. It's fine, you want to prove that you are a Gryffindor hating Slytherin, but you have to know your time and place, kid. You can't go costing the house points because of your behavior."

"I'm sorry," Lily mumbled as her cheeks burned bright red. Scorpius put his hand on her shoulder and kneeled down to make eye contact with Lily.

"Look, I understand what it's like to be stuck in someone's shadow. We're all fighting to carve out our own place in the world," Scorpius said in a hushed voice. "You have been given a grand opportunity here, to escape the house of your ancestors. It is an opportunity that most of us would kill to have the opportunity."

"Ok," Lily said.

"Now, go in there and behave," Scorpius smirked. "Just don't get caught misbehaving. We Slytherins never get caught."

"What's going on here?" James demanded as he came across his younger sister and his enemy.

"Nothing," Scorpius said as he withdrew his hand from her shoulder quickly and stood up to face James.

"It doesn't look like nothing," James said as he bumped his chest against Scorpius. Lily pushed James away.

"It's none of your business," Lily snapped at James. "Its Slytherin business."

"Let's go Lily," James said.

"No, James," Lily said shaking her head. "You go. When Malfoy and I are done, we'll go."

"Lily," James protested. Lily crossed her arms; frustrated, James shoved through the doors.

"You know, he's only looking out for you," Scorpius said grinning at the girl's spunkiness.

"I don't need a big brother," Lily said crossly. She looked at him. "Are we done here?"

"You understand, no?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes, be sneakier," Lily said as she stalked into the Great Hall and took her place between Kate and Shale. Lily got three bites before it was time to head off to the next lesson. She groaned and shoved a biscuit in her mouth as she slung her back pack on over her shoulders and followed the other two out to the Quidditch Pitch where Professor Wood stood in all his glory.

"So, you know how to do this?" Kate asked nervously. Lily nodded and continued to chew her last bites. She swallowed.

"My mum is a professional Quidditch player," Lily said. "It'd be obscene if I didn't have a bit of flying in me."

"Too right," Shale laughed.

Most of the first years whom had never flown on a broom caught up to the ones who shouldn't have already been able to fly but did. Professor Wood had them up flying in small, low circles. Lily felt dizzy after a bit and landed. Professor Wood flew over to Lily, who was looking a bit pale.

"Potter, is there a problem?" Professor Wood asked as he stopped in front of her. Lily was loosening up her green and silver tie.

"I was feeling a bit dizzy," Lily said. Professor Wood raised his eye brow. He nodded and pointed her over to a bench.

"Take a rest and then back up in the air," he said before joining the others. Lily hated that she was sitting out and feeling a bit faint. She didn't rejoin the others flying instead waited until they were released. Professor Wood called her aside as the others prepared to leave.

"Yes, sir?" Lily asked as she stood there.

"Your father was on my team back in our days at Hogwarts and your mother is a Professional. Your older brother very well could be the next Quidditch star of Hogwarts," Professor Wood said quietly. "I understand that you got handed the raw deal being sorted into Slytherin over Gryffindor, but you have to drop the attitude and make the best of the situation."

Lily went to open her mouth to say something sassy but she didn't. She caught Shale and Kate signaling to her to be calm and watch herself, so she snapped her mouth closed and nodded. He towered over her as she nodded.

"Yes sir," said Lily as she hoped it came off as innocent sounding as possible.

"You may go," Professor Wood said dismissing Lily. Lily joined her two classmates grumpily.

"I'm already sick of people acting like I got the raw deal with being sorted Slytherin," Lily said grumpy.

"What happened with the flying?" Shale asked. Lily shrugged.

"I guess since I didn't eat, I was weak," Lily said. She ignored the hunger she currently felt, and the weakness she thought might consume her. "Come on. We're going to be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Hinson."

"What's there to defend?" Shale muttered but grinned and joined Lily and Kate as they ran back to the castle. From D.A.D.A class, they headed to Transfiguration with Professor Cho. Lily was thrilled that dinner was before Astronomy, which was always held late at night. She, Shale, and Kate ate like the food was going out of style. So much so that the older Slytherins found the first years unrefined and disgusting. Looking around, Lily could see that other first years at their table were eating just about as ravenously as she was.

"First years," the fifth year prefect, Dante Malone, said quietly so that only Slytherin first years could here. "You shall start your lessons of Slytherin Sophistication shortly after dinner, prior to you going for your Astronomy lesson. You are unrefined, disgusting first years. When we are done with you, you shall be elite."

"Swell," Shale grumbled. Lily laughed, covering it up with a large gulp of pumpkin juice. The prefect glared at the two first years but said nothing more to them. Meal time ended, and the Slytherins returned to the common room. Lily, Shale, and Kate looked at each other as each first year sat and the elder Slytherins started molding the first years into appropriate models of Sophisticated Slytherin.


	3. Quidditch Players

A/N: Thank you all who have taken the time to read and review. I do appreciate the feedback. As you can tell, this is another chapter that could, technically, be broken into much shorter chapters, but again, I am lazy and hope that the sheer length of it will make it worthwhile.

Disc.: I didn't create anything beyond the plot.

* * *

Quidditch Players

The first years sat in the common room while the elder Slytherins stood in a straight line. They all looked so serious and aloof. It seemed unnatural. Lily, Shale, and Kate glanced at each other, worried. Lily raised an eyebrow at Shale as one of the seventh years stepped forward and started preaching the pride each one of them was to feel for being a Slytherin.

"To be a Slytherin means knowing that you are better than everyone else," she said. Lily watched as the seventh year's face never showed even an ounce of emotion. "You have a duty to be the cool, distant personification of Salazar Slytherin."

The seventh year paced between the older Slytherins and the first years, acting as if she was a drill sergeant. Lily fought not to laugh as she, the seventh year, walked with her arms straight and stiff. To Lily, she looked like an uptight robot. Shale covered a snicker in a false sneeze, which left Kate and Lily coughing to keep from laughing. None of the older Slytherins found it very amusing.

"You three," the seventh year said as she singled them out. "Step forward."

"Yes, ma'am," the three mumbled as they broke ranks with the other first years and stood between the two groups. The seventh year paced and circled the three, huddling together under her criticizing eye.

"These three are poor excuses for Slytherin representation," she said loudly, startling the three. "They are sloppy, look at the wrinkles in their shirts. There are ink stains on their hands. They slouch. Slytherins do not slouch, we do not stain our hands with ink, and we would not be caught dead leaving our dorms with wrinkled, sloppy clothes. We represent the image of Salazar Slytherin, and I daresay he'd be disgraced with the likes of you three standing in representation."

"Yes, ma'am," the three answered quite reluctantly, seeing that the seventh year demanded a response.

"You, Potter, have to be more Slytherin than the rest of us, because we all know we belong here," the seventh year sneered at Lily. "You are going have to work harder, be a better Slytherin. You already have two detentions against you, which is shameful, especially this early in the school year. That is behavior unfitting of a Slytherin. We never get caught when we are performing the eradication and torment of lesser beings."

"Not to interrupt, Johann," Scorpius spoke up, causing the seventh year to jerk her hate-filled glare from the small first year. "But the whole lot of them are going to get into trouble if they don't leave for their Astronomy lesson, and that'd not look good for any of us. People would think we can't manage to teach our first years time management skills."

"Too right, Malfoy," Johann said as she looked him. Her face was back to its calm, unaffected state as she looked and spoke to him. She turned back to the first year student. "Go and we will continue this later."

* * *

Lily ate breakfast, tired from the social lessons the elder Slytherins decided to dump on the first years in addition to their normal homework. If that wasn't bad enough, she had spent the better part of the night squinting through the eye piece of an old telescope and drawing her star charts. It had been far more boring than she could have ever imagined. Shale and Kate had agreed that Astronomy was almost as bad as History of Magic. The three were nodding off, grumbling already that school was a pain.

Lily didn't even bother to pay much attention to the owls bringing the mail until one of them dropped a scarlet colored letter in front of her, nearly knocking over her pumpkin juice. Lily picked it up curiously, staring at it. It was addressed to her in her mother's handwriting. The thing began to tremble in her hand and Lily glanced up at her brothers curiously to see if they too had received the same odd letter. Before Lily could open it, Scorpius jerked her up off the bench and pushed her through the doors of the Great Hall into the foyer.

"What do you think…?" Lily started in on him as the letter sprung to life.

"LILY POTTER! HOW DARE YOU get TWO detentions YOUR FIRST DAY!" The letter screamed at her in the shrill, irate voice of Ginny Potter. Lily felt her face turn fire engine red as she cowered behind her hands. She heard the Great Hall go silence to listen to the howler Mrs. Potter sent her youngest. "If you're not ready to be as school, I will pack your belonging myself and bring you home straight away. You are a Potter and you darn better start acting like it or so help me Merlin, Lily; I will come down there and straighten you out."

The letter caught fire in mid air and ashes rained down on the Front Entrance Foyer's floor. Lily looked at the pile of ashes, her eyes wide and her face feeling like it was on fire. She peeked between her fingers of the hands she had covered her face with at Scorpius standing there with a smirk on his face. She groaned and turned away.

"We all get Howlers eventually," Scorpius said reassuringly. "In fact, I know I received at least three last year and between your brothers and that boy cousin of yours, they got ten. Don't be so embarrassed."

"Everyone was sure to hear," Lily groaned as she slumped on to the nearest bench and tightly covered her face.

"Yeah, probably," Scorpius said sitting next to her. "Better out here, though, than in there. That way everyone's eyes aren't on you."

"Instead just you," Lily moaned as shook her head. Scorpius laughed.

"It's all right," he said. "We're housemates. Had you been in any other house, I'd have laughed at you right along with the rest of them."

"They're laughing at me?!" Lily asked horrified, jerking her hands from her face.

"Nah, I was only messing with you," Scorpius said. "We Slytherins have to stick together."

"She sounded so mad," Lily mumbled.

"Yeah, she did," Scorpius confirmed. "She'll get over it and so you know, you don't have to act out to fit in at Slytherin. I know we get this whole rap that we're all evil and what not, but honestly, we're like any other house. We have some really normal people, all who are over shadowed by a few. I'd be safe to say that you getting detention isn't something you'd normally do."

"No," Lily admitted. Scorpius grinned and stood.

"Now get up, straighten your spine, and walk back to your breakfast as if nothing even happened," Scorpius commanded. "Part of being an excellent Slytherin is looking as if nothing affects you."

"And does it?" Lily asked as she rose to her feet.

"Naturally," Scorpius said grinning. He lowered his voice so that only she could hear. "We can't let them know it though, now can we?"

"No, I guess not," Lily said. Scorpius raised an eye brow at her and she added a little more forcefully. "Of course not."

Lily walked slowly back into the Great Hall, ignoring that quite a few people had turned to whisper and point. She plastered on a look of indifference and headed back to her spot. Neither Kate nor Shale mentioned Lily's departure or return, and the three did a great job pretending that anything at all had happened. The three finished their breakfasts and headed out to their first class of the morning.

* * *

Lily sat in the common room tired as could be Friday evening after dinner, trying to remember whose detention she had that night and whose she had Saturday night. Shale and Kate looked up from their homework that the three had started together, some paper for Transfiguration. Lily had already completed it and was trying to figure out where she had the detention. Shale bolted upright.

"I have detention tonight too!" he exclaimed. Lily looked at him wearily.

"As does Kate, yes, but where, Shale?" Lily asked. Shale's face fell and he leaned back over his paper.

"Mr. Filch," a voice said quietly from another table in the common room. Lily and Shale glanced over at Scorpius with Nott and a few other people.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Mr. Filch usually doles out the detentions," Scorpius said. He checked his watch. "You three might want to get a move on it and try not to lose anymore house points. It'd be nice to not just hand the House Cup to Gryffindor."

Without a further word, Shale, Kate, and Lily headed out of the dungeon in search of Mr. Filch for detention. The three found him in the trophy room with a bucket and a rag. Kate was immediately set to work shining the cups that had gathered dust since the last student got detention, all without magic. Shale was next dispatched to the kitchen to help scrub the pots, kettles, and pans from dinner. Lily followed Mr. Filch out to the greenhouse to meet up with Professor Longbottom. Since she had two days of detention, she was turned over to his care.

"You know, Lily, your parents and I go way back," Professor Longbottom said. "I was really surprised to see you get sorted in Slytherin, but I assume everything happens for a reason. Anyways, tonight and tomorrow we will be de-horning the Horn-Tipped roses."

"De-horning?" Lily asked hesitantly as Professor Longbottom handed her a pair of gloves and a set of gardening sheers. He nodded and led her to a smaller greenhouse.

"These Horn-Tipped Roses have these little thorn-like appendages that they use to defend themselves with. They sting like a bee sting if they stick in you, and before they get much bigger, we remove their horns. Eventually they will bloom blood red and we will harvest the flower petals. They have great medicinal properties," Professor Longbottom said. He pointed at a bucket and donned a pair of gloves himself. "Watch me then you can take over."

Lily watched as Professor Longbottom grabbed the branch of the first Horned-Tipped Roses and wrestled it a moment before clipping off its violent purple horns. They made a tiny thud in the bottom of the pail and Professor Longbottom released the branch. He nodded to Lily and left her to her work. Lily frowned and started the task of de-horning the roses that seemed pretty confident that they wanted to keep their horns.

At ten, when it was time for Lily to go to her Astronomy class, Professor Longbottom came to retrieve Lily. She had completed about half of the plants and was looking rather banged up from what the Professor could tell under the glow of the light. Her arms were scraped and one of the plants had bitten her arm. All of her injuries were minor and she looked like she was sorry she ever acted up. Professor Longbottom sent Lily on her way, telling her to be back there the next night at the same time to finish up.

Lily slid into her seat in the Astronomy tower just as class began. Kate was filthy from head to toe and smelled like silver polish and lemons. Shale was damp from the soapy water and his fingers were all prune wrinkled. Lily thought that at least he looked clean and Kate smelled clean. Lily smelled like dirt and sap, thanks to the Horn-Tipped Roses. She hated them.

By the time class let out, it was late, and nearly curfew. The three Slytherins joined their fellow Slytherins on the rush from the tower back to the dungeons. Kate and Lily ignored those who were milling around before bed time and instead gathered their belongings to hit the showers before curfew. The two girls slipped out of the portrait hole and sprinted up to the showers, thinking that if they hurried, maybe the water wouldn't be too cold.

Shivering and chattering, but clean, the girls sprinted back to the common room, making it just in time for curfew. They headed in as the prefects headed out for night rounds and Lily expelled a deep sigh of relief, grateful that she had made it and wouldn't earn another detention. They saw Shale sitting with a few other first years and he waved them over.

"We were thinking, since the third years and up will be off at Hogsmead tomorrow, we could arrange a mini pickup game of Quidditch out on the pitch," Shale informed them.

"You in, Potter?" a first year boy name Zane Natalia asked. Lily shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm in," Lily said.

"You any good?" Zane asked. Lily smirked.

"I guess we'll see tomorrow, now won't we," Lily said. She thought a minute. "We're going to play five on five?"

"Yeah, no seekers and only two chasers," Shale explained. Lily nodded.

"Sounds decent," Lily said.

"You goin' to be able to play, even with your detention?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, no problem," Lily said. "I have detention tomorrow night, removing the horns from stupid roses."

"You mean removing the thorns, right?" Zane asked. Lily grinned and shook her head.

"No, I mean horns. These stupid roses have HORNS," Lily said holding up her arms. "And the darn thing bit me too."

"That'll teach you to act up in class," Darla sneered. Lily laughed.

"You were the one who got me to throw the tuber root," Lily said. The table burst out in loud laughter.

"That was pretty funny," Darla admitted as she rubbed her eyes. "The way that last one bounced."

"First years, bed time," Professor Perkins said as he stood in the middle of the Slytherin common room. Reluctantly, the first years climbed to their feet and headed toward their dormitories. None really wanted to be sent to bed before midnight, especially on a Friday night, but they had little choice.

The first year girls spent a good portion of the night laughing and talking until Professor Perkins and one of the female prefects came in to the dormitory and demanded that the girls please go to sleep. Snickering in the dark, the girls finally settled down and went to sleep. Lily sighed happily as she snuggled into her covers. She looked at the bed drapes as the watery windows glowed with the iridescent fish and electric eels that swam by. She really was where she belonged, a member of the Silver and Green.

* * *

The Slytherin first years barely made it through breakfast before they jumped out of their skins and ran to the pitch. It was unseasonably warm as the ten Slytherin first years mounted their brooms and picked teams. Girls against boys, they started to play, Lily as a chaser with Darla. The teams were balanced; each team had the same amount of unskilled fliers. It gave everyone a bit of balance when it came to playing and made sure that the boys didn't have an unfair advantage.

The girls were up, 110 to 80, when the Slytherin Quidditch team arrived to practice. The kids stopped in midair, a few colliding with each other, sending the first years into fits of laughter. It was decided that without the Snitch, there'd be no way to say who would have won and let it be a girls' victory. The official team waited patiently as the first years rounded up the bludgers. The first one was easy to catch and retain to the case, but the second one seemed hell bent on remaining out of the box eluded the beaters as they tried to wrangle it.

"We've got it," Zane and Shale said as Kate nearly fell off her broom for the third time in so many minutes. She went to land gently on the ground next to Lily, who was patiently waiting with the other chasers. Forgetting to ease up, Kate crashed into the group, sending them all to the ground.

"Heads UP!" everyone shouted. The group looked up to see the bludger heading straight for them. Without thinking, Lily grabbed the bat from Kate and knocked it as hard as she could away from them, right towards the Slytherin Quidditch team. It slammed right into two of the teams' players, knocking them both to the ground. The captain seized the bludger and forced it back into the case before attending to his players.

The seeker, Nice Bradshaw, was out cold. The other player, Scorpius, a chaser, struggled to sit up and catch his breath. Everyone looked at Lily with contempt as the two players were whisked off to the hospital ward. Lily hung her head as she and the other first years headed back inside the castle for an early lunch in silence. They sat around, looking rather sweaty and defeated.

"Way to go," the other houses had cheered when they entered the Great Hall, having already heard that Lily had single handedly practically killed the Slytherin seeker. After lunch, the first years attempted to visit the injured players but were sent away by Madame Pomphrey.

"Haven't you done enough?" Celeste accused. "You single handedly practically handed Gryffindor the house cup, Potter."

"I'm sorry!" Lily said genuinely. "It was coming right at us."

"Better it hit you then to take out two of our players," Celeste said as she stalked away with the other players. The first years scooted off before they endured the wrath of the older kids.

"Well, I'm glad that you hit it away from us," Kate said. Darla nodded.

"Yeah," Lily said as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets. "I guess I'd better go eat dinner before I have to go to my detention."

Lily headed to the greenhouses slowly, still feeling bad about the whole Quidditch thing. Professor Longbottom sent her straight into the greenhouse to de-horn the roses. She was tired from Quidditch and found that some of the older roses were too sneaky and got the better of her a few times. She stood up, her pail full of horns, and went to find Professor Longbottom. He looked at her sympathetically.

"Take this box up to the hospital wing and give it to Madame Pomphrey," Professor Longbottom said. He wrote a little note. "See if she'll clean up some of your scrapes."

"Yes, sir," Lily said struggling with the box.

"And, Lily, try to stay out of trouble," Professor Longbottom said.

The air was cooler than it had been in previous nights as Lily headed back up to the castle. She headed straight to the hospital ward with the box for Madame Pomphrey. She took the box from Lily and clucked disapprovingly at the child. She pulled the curtain straight and instructed Lily to sit while she prepared a salve for her wounds. Lily wandered a bit, peeking in on Nice as he lay unconscious in the bed, his head taped up. Lily frowned as she patted his hand.

She hesitated as she looked at Scorpius. He was shirtless, his chest taped up along his lower ribs. She felt heat rising to her cheeks as she looked at him, though she couldn't explain why. With two older brothers, a cousin, and countless other men in her life, she had seen plenty of shirtless male chests. Still, this was different. She couldn't explain it, but she felt that this was very different. She let her eyes travel over the length of his exposed torso, a contemplative look on her face. Her hands were near his as she leaned closer, frowning as she stared to see if he was breathing.

"You shouldn't stare," Scorpius said in a whispered voice. Lily jumped, nearly knocking aside the small table. Her face turned bright red.

"I was only checking to see if you were breathing," Lily said quickly. Scorpius smirked at her and nodded.

"Well, as you can see, you failed at killing Bradshaw or myself off," Scorpius said. He tried to sit up more but cringed.

"I honestly wasn't trying to," Lily said emphatically.

"I was just teasing you, Potter," Scorpius said as his hand went to his ribs. "Hell of a hit, though, if I do say so myself; I think that you broke me."

"I'm so sorry," Lily said. He tried to shrug but it caused a sharp pain to shoot through him. "Has he come to yet?"

"Yeah. He'll be fine in a couple of days," Scorpius said as he patted the bed. Lily took a seat on the edge, the furthest from him. "Just in time for the game against Gryffindor, he'll be back to his old, prick self. The thing you have to remember, Potter, we are invincible. Slytherins never let anything keep them down. Bradshaw's a seventh year. He's practically immortal."

"Yeah," Bradshaw moaned from his side of the dividing curtain. Lily blushed a deep red, for having patted the boy's hand. Scorpius grinned, seeing the youngest Potter looking quite uncomfortable there with them.

"Miss Potter! I daresay you are trouble indeed, perhaps worse than your brothers combined! Coming in here and waking patients that you sent here injured in the first place," Madame Pomphrey said shrilly. Lily jumped up off the edge of the bed, her face on fire with embarrassment. "Perhaps a week of detention will finally get through to you."

"Madame Pomphrey, please," Lily begged, her hands clasped in front of her.

"I called her over," Scorpius said quickly.

"What?" Lily and Madame Pomphrey both said in unison.

"I saw her sitting there and I asked her to please come over," Scorpius said quickly as he struggled to sit up. He gasped slightly at the pain that shot through him and cringed.

"Heavens why?" Madame Pomphrey asked as she helped the boy.

"I needed her to go feed my cat, Ash. I knew I'd not be able to do it, and since Potter is a housemate, she could make sure Ash got fed," Scorpius said.

"Is this true?" Madame Pomphrey asked looking at Lily skeptically, her hands on her hips. Lily nodded, her face blank.

"Yes, ma'am," Lily lied flatly. "I just need to know where Ash's food is and where to find him."

"She's probably sleeping under my bed," Scorpius said. "Her food is in my trunk. Can't miss her, she's all white like I said and Damon can help point her out."

"I can manage, Malfoy," Lily said.

Madame Pomphrey looked at the two of them skeptically but figured that Scorpius had no reason to lie or to cover for Lily. She sighed and nodded, finally agreeing that what he said must have been true. Bradshaw was dead silent, pretending to be asleep so to keep up the ruse. Madame Pomphrey handed Lily a small container.

"Dab this on your scraps," she said, sighing.

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said quickly, taking the container. Lily turned to leave.

"Oh, and Potter," Scorpius called to her. She turned back to look at him.

"Yes?" Lily asked expectantly.

"Remember Ash likes to scratch a bit, not that you'd be able to tell with what that plant has done to you," Scorpius said. "I do appreciate you agreeing. No one else would get ten feet of the demonic cat."

"Uh, no problem," Lily said hesitantly as she left the hospital room.

* * *

Lily knocked on the third year boys' dormitory, almost hesitantly. She had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and agreed that should a cat attack her, it would go unnoticed with the way that the stupid plant had decided to carve up her face, neck, and arms. Thankfully they were superficial and the ointment that Madame Pomphrey had given her should take the sting out of them.

The door swung open to a very tall boy standing there, looming over her. He looked slightly amused to see Lily standing there, trying to look taller than she really was. He crossed his arms expectantly and leaned against the door frame. Lily hesitated before she flashed him what she hoped was a disarming grin. He hesitated, a slight smile on his face.

"Malfoy asked me to come and feed his cat, Ash. Said that Damon could point the thing out to me," Lily said. The smile fell from the boy's face and for a second she was certain that she saw fear in his eyes.

"I'm Damon, and the demonic cat is over there," he said stepping aside, pointing at the large for poster bed by the under-water window. Lily felt a funny twist in her stomach. His bed was placed exactly where hers was in the first year girls' dorm. She loved looking out the window at the underwater wildlife. It was like having an aquarium by the bed. The trunk was closed, unlocked, and there was a cat perched upon the top of it. Aside from its huge, round stomach, it was lithe and trim.

"Don't know how much you could need to eat with that pot belly you have," Lily murmured at the glaring cat.

"Good luck feeding it, Potter," Damon said from the door. "That beast is a freaking demon cat. I've seen it go after blood."

"Swell," Lily said. She was standing about five feet from the cat with the most intense eyes she'd ever seen. "Nice, kitty. Good Ash. Lily only wants to feed you."

The cat hissed at Lily, throwing an extended clawed paw at her. Lily glanced around looking for something to throw over the cat but the floor was unnaturally spotless. Groaning, Lily edged closer. The cat began to growl slightly, its hairs standing up on the back of its neck. Lily continued to move closer until she was half a foot from the cat. She contemplated knocking the cat off the top of the trunk.

Glancing behind her, she could see that Damon was watching carefully from a safe position. Lily thought a moment then dug around in her jeans pocket, pulling out a piece of gum. She shoved it in her mouth and blew a small bubble. With her wand, she cast the levitation spell and the cat was transfixed with the pink bubble floating around. Lily sat down on the trunk, continuing to make the bubble with the motions of her wand while petting the cat gently with her right hand.

The cat looked at her immediately as Lily murmured to it, stroking the pure white cat. Lily glanced at Damon, who looked quite tense and on the edge of his bed as he watched. Lily continued to gently stroke the cat, and almost in a thunderous way, the cat begun to purr. Lily let the bubble land in the waste paper basket as Ash purred and climbed onto Lily's lap, nuzzling Lily's neck and face with its own small face. Lily lifted the pot bellied cat gently, and placed her on Scorpius' bed. Lily opened the trunk and fished out a bowl full of kitty kibble for Ash. She used her wand to refill the water bowl; pulling off the spell she had seen older kid use without much mess or difficulty.

"Demon cat, indeed," Lily laughed as she closed Scorpius' trunk. She petted the cat as it ate, Ash practically growling as she purred for Lily. Lily grinned at Damon on her way out. "Demon cat, really."

"She really is!" Damon called as Lily closed the dorm room door behind her and headed to her own dormitory to rub on the ointment and go to bed.


	4. Burden of Beasts

AN: Thank you all who have read and reviewed. It helps me, more than you could ever know! This one is longer and again, yes, technically could be more than one chapter, but you know how that goes. At least they're meaty chapters, right?

Disc.: Only borrowing the characters for my own devices, the plot is mine.

* * *

Burden of Beasts

Lily sat at the table early Saturday morning the day of the big match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, much earlier than most of the students even rose, much less headed down to breakfast. She had taken care to make her clothes look perfect, as if brand new and never worn. She had gotten a hang of the Slytherin look early on, and kept her hair pulled back in a neat pony tail. She glanced down at her black Mary-Janes, her reflection visible in them and she laughed. If she didn't know better, they could be used as mirrors to up-skirt others. Knowing how uptight the Slytherins were, they probably didn't think about things like that.

Lily looked up as her brother, James, slunk in through the doors of the Great Hall. He barely glanced her way, instead collapsed on the bench, his back to her. He pulled a bowl toward him and began filling it with cereal and milk. Lily hesitated before she stood and carefully carried her own bowl of cereal over to him. She stood next to him, hoping that he'd catch on and invite her to sit. He slowly ate his cereal, focusing on the wall straight ahead.

"Mind if I sit?" Lily asked as she began to put her bowl on the table. James shrugged.

"You sure you're allowed to?" James asked. Lily rolled her eyes and sat down next to him.

"You're my big brother," Lily said laughing. "Let anyone tell me that I can't come over here and annoy you!" James looked at her. Lily was grinning at him.

"With your eye color, you'd have been better suited in Ravenclaw," James mumbled before facing his cereal bowl, no smile on his face. Lily frowned.

"I doubt the sorting hat was trying to coordinate my eye color with my house colors, James," Lily said. He shrugged and continued to eat his cereal.

"Just saying," James said.

"Do you want me to just go back?" Lily offered quietly. James looked at her again, seeing the sad look on her face.

"You're going to go back there anyways," James said frowning at her. "You're one of THEM. You're a Slytherin."

"You sound like Uncle Ron when you say that," Lily teased, trying to break his foul mood.

"Better a Gryffindor," James said. Lily felt anger welling up in her.

"I didn't ask to be a Slytherin," Lily snapped at him.

"Well, maybe if you had more Gryffindor thoughts in your head, you would have been sorted where you belong," James said. Lily frowned at him, upset.

"I was more worried about being a squib, thanks to you and Al. I'm Slytherin and there is nothing to change that," Lily snapped. James shrugged, not looking at her.

"Have fun rooting for your team," James said dully.

"I was going to wish you a good game, James, but I see no matter what I say to you, I'm the enemy now, aren't I?" Lily asked jumping to her feet. Her voice was unnaturally high and thick, almost if she was about to cry. James didn't look at her, only shrugged.

"Guess so," he said dully. Lily dumped her cereal bowl on his head, the milk running down his face and the bits of cereal sticking in his hair. James jumped up, angry.

"Jerk," Lily cried and stalked away without another word. Lily half expected him to chase her down and give her a rug burn on her arm or something, but James didn't. Lily passed the Slytherin Quidditch team on her way out, all who seemed to have arrived just in time to see Lily's cereal dumping display. They laughed, causing Lily to give them all a dirty look. She marched back down to the Slytherin common room, straight to her bed and threw herself across it.

"Coming to breakfast?" Kate asked as she sat on the edge of Lily's bed.

"I've been," Lily said. Her voice was muffled through the duvet and pillow she had her face buried in, not making an effort to move. Kate patted her back.

"You want to talk about it?" Kate asked.

"Not really, Kate," Lily said. Kate sighed and understood. She left the auburn haired girl laying face down on the bed and went off to breakfast.

Lily ignored everyone who came and went, readying for the Quidditch game. Lily had drawn the curtains around her bed by then, only her shiny black shoes poking out from the opening in the curtain. She just wanted to ignore everything. She felt something moving the curtain and tiny, delicate paws crawled across the back of her bare leg, tickling it. She felt the sharp claws peeking out as she slowly rolled over.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" Lily wondered as the pot bellied cat purred and mewed, crawling up Lily as she remained lying down. It nuzzled her, its whiskers tickling Lily's face. The cat mewed and licked Lily's nose, feeling like wet sandpaper. Lily couldn't help but perk up at this soft, furry bundle of white kitty. Lily hoisted the cat in her arms and carried her back to the steadily filling common room, where most of the Slytherins were hanging out. They'd all walk down to the pitch together, donning their green and silver in support of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"Lily… why do you have the demon cat?" Shale asked slowly, shrinking away from her. The cat hissed at Shale, trying to take a swipe at him.

"Ash is not a demon cat," Lily laughed as she petted the furry beast. "And anyways, she came in my room and started walking on me while I was moping."

It was the general consensus that everyone in Slytherin house believed that Scorpius' cat was the animalification of evil. Lily laughed at them, calling them silly as she settled down in a chair. She did try to put the cat down, but Ash wanted nothing to do with that. She kept climbing up on Lily's lap, nuzzling her and purring. Lily laughed and left her there, the cat lying on its back, swatting at Lily's tie while Shale tried to play a game of Wizarding Chess with her.

"That cat is pure evil, Lily," Shale complained at he withdrew a swatted hand when he tried to move his piece. The cat hissed at Shale.

"Ash is not," Lily murmured as she leaned forward, absent mindedly rubbing the cat's belly while she went to move her piece.

"You know, that's not your demon cat, Potter," a voice said. Lily looked up to see Scorpius standing over her. She smirked at him.

"Ash is not a demon cat," Lily said as the cat mewed playfully and purred. Scorpius plopped down next Lily, sitting close enough that Lily could feel his body heat in a non-gross way. Her cheek pinked slightly and she focused back on the chess board.

"You're losing terrible," Scorpius laughed. He went to make a move for Lily, a knight to take Shale's queen, and the chess piece tried to stick him with its sword. Scorpius withdrew his hand quickly. "Evil bugger."

"Hmm," Lily replied noncommittally as she moved the piece and overtook Shale's queen.

"Well, I guess I'd better get ready for the match," Scorpius said. He went to take Ash and the cat growled a deep, throaty growl at him. "Oh, come on. You turned my cat against me?"

"I did not," Lily said as she stroked the kitty.

"She's never growled at me before," Scorpius accused.

"Maybe she just likes the way I smell," Lily commented. She glanced at Scorpius but he was unreadable. She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ash. Go back to you Daddy. Be a good girl for Daddy."

"Baby talk?" teased Scorpius. Lily made a face as she handed the placated cat back over to Scorpius.

"And so you know, she sought me out," Lily called to him as he walked back towards his dormitory, parting Slytherins who were familiar with the evil side of Ash the Demon Cat.

Lily hadn't been certain that she wanted to go to the much anticipated Slytherin-Gryffindor game. It was too nerve racking, in her opinion, but it was pointed out to her that it was mandatory for all Slytherins to attend all Quidditch games. Johann, the seventh year dictator-girl, had made it clear that Slytherins always provided a unified front, no matter what. Lily pouted internally and pulled her cloak on, tying it tight. She hated going out in the rain, and just before the match, it had started to sprinkle. She felt that her nerves and loyalties were playing tug-of-war with her insides.

On the one hand, she wanted her house to win. She knew that it would be an awesome win for Slytherin to beat the pants off of their rival. More than Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor wanted each other crushed in no uncertain terms. They were just too different. On the other hand, she loved her brother, James, and her cousin, Hugo. This would be Hugo's first game since making the team, and she wanted him to do well. She wanted them to be happy. She knew, either way, there was going to be disappointment tonight.

Lily, Kate, and Shale found their seats in the stand, a cool mist all around them. Lily had hoped that with the bad weather, they'd have postponed the game, but it was not meant to be. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, clearing it of the rain that seemed determined to drench. It was cool, and Lily found herself stepping closer to Shale. He looked at her and grinned, rolling his eyes.

"So, are you rooting for Slytherin or your family?" Shale asked. Lily crossed her arms against her soaked cloak.

"I hate that I have to choose," Lily said. She glanced at her brother, Albus, sitting with Rose directly across from her. He looked at her for a second before returning to talk to Rose. "So I am not going to choose. I'm going to cheer for my family and for my house."

"Aren't you afraid that they'll have a fit?" Shale whispered nodding toward the other Slytherins. Lily looked to the uptight, stoic Slytherins and shook her head.

"I'm a Potter and a Slytherin," Lily said. "I can cheer for both."

Cheer for both, she did, much to the displeasure of many of the older Slytherins. And when Slytherin beat Gryffindor, seizing the snitch, Lily cheered. Drenched in rain, Lily didn't care that she didn't look like a professional Slytherin, instead she, Shale, and Kate screamed with excitement, hugging and jumping around. Their hair was plastered to their heads, their clothes heavy with rain, and they crushed each other with the excitement of having won. Lily caught a look of disgust from James, and Lily went to frown but the excitement of having won overtook her as she continued to hug those Slytherins around her. They seemed to detest human touch a bit, which made Lily and the other first years cheer louder and hug harder.

Slytherin celebrations were muted, much to Lily's disappointment. It was like when she was forced to go to Fluer's fancy girly tea parties with Aunt Hermione and Rose. It was stuff, to say the least, and not in a soul warming way. Lily and the other first years sat in their freshly changed clothes, their hair still drying naturally as the older students milled around enjoying fancy deserts and frilly drinks. Lily leaned over to Shale, whispering in his ear, and then repeated to Kate. One by one, the first years each whispered to each other until they were all grinning and glowing.

None of the other students noticed anything at first. The sound level really didn't change much as slowly, systematically the room became one person less. Lily giggled as she closed the door behind the last first year. All ten first year students were in the boys' dormitory, laughing. They had swiped snacks on the way through, and several first year students pulled out contraband items like bottles of smuggled fire-whiskey and butter beer.

"Anyone know a silencing charm for the door?" Lily asked. The room collectively shook their heads and Lily laughed, shrugging.

"So what if we get caught?" Darla cheered as she threw her arm around Lily and pulled her to the newly formed circle. "They can't very well give us all detention."

"Let's play… spin the bottle," Zane said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. The group groaned, but in a way that meant they were only acting as if the game was a hassle. The ten really wanted to play. So they each sat boy-girl, and Zane polished off a bottle of butter beer.

"You suggested it, you go first Zane," Lily taunted. He laughed and set the bottle in the middle of the small circle, spinning it. It landed on Callie, one of the other girls in Lily's dormitory.

"So, do we like, kiss on the mouths or what?" Callie asked, blushing.

"Whatever you like," Kate said winking at Callie. Callie blushed harder and quickly kissed Zane. She then spun the bottle and the game continued.

"I think you've set it up so that it won't fall on you," Darla teased as the bottle landed on Elton Hartling. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek quickly.

"I'm sure my luck will run out eventually," Lily said smirking as she crossed her arms and sat back a bit. Elton spun, landing on Nina Van Garden, who then spun and landed on Shale. Shale spun and the room was in joyful uproar.

"Looks like your luck ran out," Kate and Darla both shouted at her grinning. Lily grinned, rolling her eyes as she leaned toward Shale.

"It certainly has," Professor Perkins said loudly, causing everyone in the room to freeze. All of Slytherin was behind him, their arms crossed in a rather standoffish manner.

* * *

"Disgraceful, undignified behavior, unfitting of a Slytherin, all of you," Professor Perkins said as he practically spat the words. Lily could almost see the man foaming at the mouth, spittle spraying the air. The ten stood in two rows of five each as the head of house paced back and forth.

"Sir, we were only having some fun," Lily piped up. He turned and looked at her with fire in his eyes.

"I'd have you all expelled if I could, or at least given detention if it wasn't for the fact that I do NOT wanting it getting out that there was such vile behavior happening in a dormitory. It is one thing to be visiting among your selves in the dormitories, but playing such foul games, MUGGLE games. It's disgusting," Professor Perkins said.

"Wait, we're in trouble because we were playing a muggle game?" Lily asked confused.

"It's indecent," Johann piped up from where she stood behind Professor Perkins.

"It's immoral," another seventh year agreed.

"It's un-Slytherin!" a third piped up. Lily laughed.

"It's a game," Lily said shaking her head. "It's just a game."

* * *

The first year students were given in dormitory restriction. When they weren't in class or at meals, they were confined to their dormitories. Until bedtime, the doors were to remain open and the first years were not allowed to speak to anyone. Naturally, the first year students thought it was unfair, but they didn't say anything. They couldn't. Professor Perkins decided to cast a silencing charm on the first years, which only deactivated when a teacher was talking to them. It was murder.

One whole week, the house of Slytherin was devoid of first year speech. Unfortunately for Professor Perkins, he didn't anticipate the resourcefulness of the first years that had taken up simple charades, just inside the door way of their dormitories to communicate with each other. They managed to help each other with simple homework questions from across the common room, and nearly were caught half a dozen times, but always managed to pull it off as an unusual stretch.

On the last day, even the body language codes and passing notes had grown boring. The first years ached to run through the leaves on the grounds and goof off. On the Saturday they were released, they were careful to mind Slytherin law while they marched in two straight lines to the Great Hall for breakfast. They ate in quite, careful not to talk more than a whisper. Together, like some odd militant regime, they headed back to the common room to dress in their identical green scarves and gloves, their black boots shined.

Once the third year students and older headed to Hogsmead for the day, the first years went out to a secluded part of the school grounds and had a grand old time, running in the crisp October air, kicking up leaves and acting like the eleven and twelve year olds that they were. Their faces turned rosy at the cold air and leaves clung to their clothes, but they ran around burning off a week's worth of silence and inactivity. They were pretty pooped by lunch time, eating the hot soup provided and the sandwiches, drinking the pumpkin juice, and nibbling on the pastries.

Lily headed to the library after lunch to browse around for something to read before bed. She was finding her work easy to keep up with and wanted something to divert her attention those nights she couldn't sleep. She saw her family huddled around a table working diligently on whatever they were working on, their heads bent over pieces of parchment. She looked at the book in her hand, contemplating leaving with it. Albus looked up to see her standing there, his face curious as they stared at each other. Lily forced herself to walk over.

"Can I sit with you?" Lily asked hesitantly. Hugo and Rose looked up, but James remained bent over his paper, not even hesitating as his quill scratch the parchment.

"Sure, Lily," Rose said as she scooted over. Lily pulled a chair to the table, sitting down.

"You guys did a wonderful job last weekend," Lily said proudly. "I don't think I've seen you score so many goals, James, and Hugo, you were fantastic."

"Thanks, Lily, you think so? I thought I was a little slow in the start of the game," Hugo said. "I was so nervous."

"Oh, no! Really? You did SO well," Lily said earnestly. "I thought I was going to go hoarse for cheering for you."

"We noticed," Albus said as he grinned at her. "I think you were the only Slytherin screaming like that when the match was going on. I was confused who exactly you were rooting for."

"Well, my big brother and cousin, of course," Lily said. "And, of course, my house; I was cheering for my house, as well."

"I'm sure the Slytherins were none too happy about that," James said coolly. Lily shook her head.

"We got a week's worth of in dormitory detention for the after party," Lily said grinning. "For playing a muggle game."

"Are you serious?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, apparently playing 'Spin the Bottle' isn't very Slytherin," Lily laughed. James looked up at her, angry.

"You shouldn't have been playing spin the bottle," James snapped. "You're eleven years old!"

"You act as if I am some innocent child, James," Lily chastised. "I know you hate to see it, but I'm not."

"No thanks to those Slytherins," James grumbled. Lily shook her head, sighing. She pushed her chair back and stood.

"I guess I'll just catch you guys later," Lily said in a defeated sort of way.

"I'll walk you back," Albus said. Lily shrugged slightly but was happy at least one of her older brothers seemed to be treating her normally. The two left the library in silence and they started back toward the Slytherin portrait hole.

"He's never going to get over it, is he?" Lily asked Albus quietly as they walked side by side.

"James is James," Albus said. "He doesn't mean to be that way, but that is the only way he knows how to be. Him and Malfoy have been at each other's throats since first year on the train and never have let up since. I guess you getting all chummy with Malfoy and being in his house, it really gets to James. Then you were cheering for him, which really was a blow to James."

"Al, Malfoy's in my house," Lily countered. "How would it look if I can't support my own house? If I was a Gryffindor, I'd support my own house, even if you guys weren't in it. I just don't understand why James can't be supportive of me."

"I think," Albus started slowly. "I think James is afraid that he's lost you as a little sister.""That's stupid," Lily said crossing her arms. "My being Slytherin doesn't make me any less his sister."

"I know that, but you know, James always takes things so personally," Albus said gently.

"Oh, like my being Slytherin has anything to do with him," Lily said sarcastically. Albus laughed. "I'd have thought you both would be thrilled about NOT having me underfoot and following you around like some lost little first year."

"James would never admit it, but you not needing and not being around, it is driving him insane. He misses you," Albus said smiling at his little sister. "He thinks you've replaced him."

"With who?" Lily asked. Albus shrugged.

"Dunno," Albus admitted. "He just feels like he's missing out on being your big brother."

"That's ridiculous," Lily said. "I'm still his sister, he's still my brother. Nothing changes that."

"He'll be ok," Albus promised. The two walked in silence until they reached the corridor that they'd have to part, Albus to head to the tower where the Gryffindors resided, Lily down in the dungeons. She threw her arms around him.

"I miss annoying you guys," Lily confessed. Albus hugged her back before pulling away.

"It's only going to get worse," Albus said. Lily rolled her eyes at him and punched his shoulder.

"You know, I can still whip you at Quidditch," Lily laughed. Albus nodded.

"Yeah, well, I'm working on that," Albus taunted. The two parted without another word and Lily headed slowly, reluctantly back down to the damp, dank dungeon. For the first time, she wished that she wasn't separated from her brothers. How much fun it must be to sit around with her family, cousins and brothers, and just relax. She could bet that there were rules of propriety in the Gryffindor house. Sometimes she swore the Slytherin laws would threaten to suffocate her if she wasn't careful to keep her heart light.

"Thank Merlin your back," Shale said as Lily entered the common room. Lily looked at him confused.

"I only went to the library, why?" Lily asked as she held up the book she was holding.

"That demon cat is causing a ruckus and won't shut up," Shale said. "Everyone's still gone, but that cat's in there growling and whining. No one can get close to it to see what's wrong."

Lily headed into the third year boys' dormitory, followed by Shale and a few second and first years. Ash's growling and whining could be clearly heard in the room. Lily walked over to Scorpius' bed, unbuttoning her jacket and taking off her tie. She tossed her scarf on the duvet first, followed by the gloves that had fallen from her jacket pocket. She kneeled down, her knee-high socks doing little to protect her knees from the stone floor. She set her jacket and tie on the bed, and proceeded to roll up her sleeves past her elbow. Lying on her stomach, she peered under the bed. She could make out the white cat contrasting with the darkness under the bed.

"Ash, it's me, Lily," Lily said soothingly as she reached for her. The cat extended one of her paws and planted her sharp claws deep into Lily's arm, raking it from the crook to the wrist. Lily withdrew her arm quickly and scrambled back. She held her hand to her arm, blood springing up along her wand arm. She frowned and Shale handed her a handkerchief. She thought a moment and dabbed at the blood.

"What are you going to do?" Shale asked as Lily climbed back down on the floor.

"I guess until Malfoy returns, I'm going to sit with her. I don't have a clue what's up, but she seems like she's in pain," Lily murmured. She glanced at them. "Anyone kick her; swat at her, curse her?"

"No," they all replied. Lily shivered. She pulled out her wand, pointing in at the coal radiator.

"Incendio," Lily said as she lit it.

"Cool spell," Shale said genuinely impressed.

"We don't have house elves to light our fires," Lily confessed. She blushed. "We have to light our own fires."

Shale didn't say anything and Lily scooted back under the bed a bit, drawing closer to the cat. She didn't attempt to grab it or touch it at first, just proceeded to just be there. Lily slowly attempted to pet the cat and Ash let her the second time. The cat still growled slightly, whined a bit, but the sound seemed not to be so deafening. That was when it happened. Ash became a mother.

Lily stared at the small, slimy thing as Ash sniffed and licked the small thing clean. It wasn't moving. Lily frowned, thinking it should be moving. Ash let out a wail, nudged the kitten that was now less slimy but still it did not move. The first kitten was born still. Lily bit back her tears as Ash pushed the kitten away. Lily reached for the kitten, scooping it up in her hand. It was pure white, like Ash, and cold as ice. Death had come to Ash's first kitten.

"S-Shale," Lily sobbed slightly as she pulled back from the bed. "Can you get me a box or something and some towels or something?"

Shale saw Lily sitting with her back against Scorpius' night standing, the white fluff ball cupped in her hands. He retreated from the third year dorm and returned with a small box and a few towels. Lily didn't say anything, just filled the box with tissues and gently laid the tiny creature inside it. Lily stared at it for a few minutes before Shale moved to close the box, securing the lid. He saw Lily turn her head quickly, brushing tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. Ash began growling again, snapping Lily out of her moment.

Lily arranged the towels on the floor and gently moved Ash to them, hoping that they were more comfortable and warm than the cold, stone floor. The quickness that the next kitten came and went surprised Lily, as did her emotion as Ash pushed another still kitten away, this one also white. Lily bit back the sadness as she placed the second kitten in the box next to the first. Lily petted Ash, murmuring soothing nonsense to the cat as Lily lain by her side.

"What are you guys doing in my room?" Scorpius asked as he entered. Shale was sitting, his back against the wall nearest Lily while Lily was laying belly down on the floor. Lily barely stirred.

"Your cat's having kittens," Lily said in a soft, soothing voice as she continued to stroke the kitten.

"Kittens? Really?" Scorpius said. Lily nodded as a third kitten was born. Lily held her breath as Ash cleaned it and nudged it. Lily's heart broke as Ash pushed the creature away. Lily retrieved the third fallen kitten.

"Three so far and none has… made it," Lily said as she fought back a sob. Scorpius sat down next to Lily as Lily didn't even bother wiping the tears away from her face. She sobbed silently as she opened the box and placed the third kitten in the box.

"It'll be ok," Scorpius said uncomfortable with Lily's tears. Lily frowned, shaking her head as she forced the tears from her face with her palms. She rested back down on the floor, her face turned from Scorpius as she focused on soothing Ash. Lily's hand stroked the body of the cat, almost begging her silently not to birth anymore still kittens. Scorpius reached out and stroked Lily's hair gently as Lily stroked the cat.

The cat labored through dinner and Lily remained on the cold floor. Scorpius remained with Lily, tenderly stroking her hair. She hated to admit it, but it felt good, soothing, and she hoped her own touch was as soothing to Ash as the poor beast continued to labor. Lily stokes along the cat became erratic, infrequent as the hour struck midnight and the cat was still laboring to get the fourth and final kitten born. Lily fell asleep, the gentle touch of Scorpius' hands in her hair too much for her to fight. Despite the cold, hard floor, Lily fell asleep.

"Lily?" she heard, a warm breath tickling her ear. She groaned slightly and tried to ignore the voice. "Lily wake up."

"Hmm?" Lily murmured sleepily to find Scorpius' face unnaturally close to hers. He was leaning over her. Then she heard it. Ash's growling and whining had ceased. It was replaced with the hearty, lusty cries of a newborn kitten.

"Ash had her final kitten, Lily," Scorpius said quietly. "Just a few minutes ago; it looks like its ok."

Lily sighed as she saw the little fluffy ball rooting around for Ash's teat. The lusty cries stopped and Ash purred warmly. Lily felt her heart swell in her chest. The one success made up for the three kittens that didn't survive their births. Lily watched the kitten and its mother for a bit before realizing how close Scorpius was to her as he leaned over her to watch the kitten with her. Lily felt her cheeks warm at the sheer thought. She made to move and Scorpius backed up slightly to let Lily sit. He looked at her arm, his fingers practically burning her flesh as he saw where Ash scratched her.

"You should get this checked out," Scorpius said. Lily blushed and pulled her arm away.

"I'm fine," Lily said. "I'm just glad Ash is ok. Have you thought about what you're going to name the kitten?"

"I was thinking Ash Two," Scorpius said. Lily shook her head.

"The poor thing; can't you come up with something more fitting for the blessed beast?" Lily asked.

"What would you name it if it was yours?" Scorpius asked. Lily yawned slightly as she stood.

"I'd name it something spectacular, fitting," Lily said as she walked to the door. She glanced out to the common room where the other four inhabitants of the dormitory had decided to sleep for the night.

"Like?" Scorpius asked as he stood unnaturally close to her. Lily felt her heart start to pound and she worried he could hear it. She felt her cheeks get warm.

"Like Amaia," Lily said.

"Why Amaia?" Scorpius asked.

"It's pretty, starts with an "A" like Ash, and it is the Basque meaning for 'end', which is fitting," Lily said quietly.

"Thanks for sitting with Ash through her kittens, I think you really calmed her down a lot," Scorpius said quietly.

"I only wished I could have done more," Lily said. She glanced at the small box on the trunk and her eyes welled up with tears. Scorpius smiled and wrapped his arms around her, catching her off guard.

"You did more for her than I could have, thank you, Lily," Scorpius said. He released her from the hug and Lily uncertainly walked away. She glanced back at him, almost shyly.

"Good night Scorpius," Lily said. He smiled.

"Good night, Lily," he replied. She nodded and disappeared behind her bedroom door. She groaned when she remembered she'd left half of her uniform on Scorpius' bed but she was far too tired to retrieve it. Instead, she slipped into her pajamas and climbed under her blanket. Sleep consumed her instantly.


	5. Kissing Boys

AN: Thanks for the review. This chapter is a tad shorter than last chapter, but it couldn't be helped, now could it?! I was due for a short chapter. Keep reading and reviewing.

Disc.: The only thing I own is the computer I typed this on, and the plot. The rest belongs to others elsewhere.

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Kissing Boys

Lily frowned, pulling her blankets around her tighter. She shivered, and could see her breath in the air. It was freezing in the dormitory and Lily tested the air by letting her foot slip out from under her blanket. The air was icy cold and she jerked her foot back under the blankets. The air was too cold. She whined. She didn't want to leave her safe cocoon of bedding and pajamas, but the growling complaint of a hungry stomach had other ideas. Sighing, she shoved her blankets back and climbed head first into the icy air of the dungeon dormitory. The coal furnace was burning but it put off very little heat. She growled at it and kicked it, regretting it when she hurt her big toe.

"Why's it so cold in here?" Kate complained as Lily and she started to get dressed for the day. Lily shrugged as she layered up as much his possible and still look Slytherin presentable.

"I guess because we're under water," Lily suggested as she pulled on her cloak. She frowned; disappointed that she was no warmer with it on. She shuffled out of the dormitory alone and made her way through the common room to breakfast. She felt someone fall into step beside her and Lily knew who it was without looking.

"I thought you said I'd get used to it?" Lily complained.

"You will," Scorpius replied. "Heading to breakfast?"

"Yes," Lily said as she withdrew her arms into her cloak. "Are you sure my scarf wasn't with my jacket, because I could have sworn it was."

"I gave you back everything you left in my room," Scorpius said looking at her with that smirk he always had plastered on his face. Lily rolled her eyes, not believing him but said nothing more.

"I guess I'll just ask James to swing over to the robe shop and see if he can't pick me up a new one then," Lily said sighing as the two arrived at the giant doors to the Great Hall.

"No matter," Scorpius said as he grabbed her wrist to stop her from entering. He unwound his scarf from his neck.

"No, wait Scorpius," Lily protested. "I can't take your scarf."

"Take it Lily," Scorpius said as he wound it around her securely. He grinned. "I have others."

"Really, I shouldn't," Lily said smiling slightly. Rosiness crept into her cheeks.

"It looks better on you, anyways," Scorpius said.

"What will you use while you're in Hogsmead?" Lily asked. He made a noncommittal noise.

"I'll just have to make due," Scorpius said. "Don't worry about it, Lily. I'll just grab another one. You stay warm with this one."

"Thank you," Lily said as she as her cheeks pinked slightly. She pushed through the doors and found her regular seat. Shale and Kate were not far behind, Shale taking her left, Kate taking her right.

"That's not your scarf," Shale accused. Lily felt her cheeks warm slightly.

"Are you sure?" Lily feigned.

"Fairly," Shale said. Lily glanced at Scorpius before she looked at Shale. He, too, glanced at Scorpius but said nothing more.

"It is freezing in your dormitory?" Kate interrupted, oblivious to the little exchange between Shale and Lily.

"Yeah, actually," Shale said momentarily distracted from the exchanged. Lily cheered internally. Having two older brothers, she knew that once their attention was broken it was over with. She grinned.

"Ours too," Lily added quickly. "I kicked the furnace this morning and it still didn't help."

"I know Tavis and Zane were grumbling about it this morning," Shale said. "And they were still in bed. I keep hearing that we will get used to it, but I've not felt it much."

"You will get used to it," Darla said as she took her seat across from the three. "But they don't tell you that you get used to it about the time the snow begins to melt."

"Snow?" Shale asked excitedly.

"Didn't you know?" Darla asked. She pointed to a nearby window. "It's snowing. It's going to be a white Halloween this year."

"SNOW!" Shale cheered. He picked up the pace on his eating and drug Lily out of the Great Hall by her hand and out into one of the courtyards. Lily laughed as they kicked through the snow. Mr. Filch was there, his hat on complete with ear flaps. He had a clipboard and a list as kids were already queuing up to leave the school grounds. He glared at Shale and Lily who were having entirely too much fun kicking the snow. They moved off to the side, Kate and Darla joining them as they watched the older kids leave.

Lily stopped for a second as Scorpius stood with Elena and Celeste in line. He glanced at her for a second, that same smirk on his face. Lily smiled quickly but her attention on him was lost when Shale crushed a giant, loosely packed snowball on Lily's head. She laughed and tackled the other first year to the ground, pinning him. Kate, Darla, and Lily ganged up on him, crushing snow in his hair.

By lunch time rolled around the four were starved. The ate a hasty lunch before joining the other Slytherin first and second years to fight the Gryffindor first and second years in a snow ball fight version of capture the flag, the snow coming down in icy chunks. The screams of glee echoed over the grounds as they teamed up against each other, and for a while, there wasn't the division of houses. Lily was crouched behind a mound, huddled with Kate and Shale. They had managed to sneak very close to the Gryffindor base.

"Remember me always!" Lily told them playfully as she kissed Kate and Shale's cheeks. "Cover me, I'm going in!"

The snowballs rained down as Lily jumped over the mound and ran with all her might through the snow, her arms pumping as she kicked up snow. She dove behind the Gryffindor base, snatching their makeshift flag as she landed on her cousin, Hugo. He protested as she jumped up, the flag in her hand. She laughed and jumped back over to the war side, running back to the safety of her own small snow mound.

"I got it," Lily laughed.

"They know you have it," Shale said, looking at the Gryffindor crested handkerchief Lily had clutched in her hand.

"They do, but I know a safe way to get it back to base," Lily said grinning. She reached and loosened up Shale's scarf, her icy fingers touching the skin of his neck. She shoved the flag down his shirt collar. "Now, you run around the back side of base and I'll draw the fire. GO!"

Shale barely had time to register what had happened as Lily ran off, making it look like she was heading straight back to the middle of the base. The Gryffindors were after her on foot, chucking snowballs at her with all their might. Shale started running back to base. He glanced back to see Lily tackled to the ground by her cousin. Shale continued at full speed as Hugo pinned Lily down, shoving fists full of snow down her shirt. Lily was struggling with him, laughing as she threw snow into Hugo's face.

"She doesn't have the flag!" Hugo shouted as he looked up to see Shale running to the Slytherin base. Hugo went to jump up and take off after Shale but Lily grabbed his ankle, tripping the boy. Hugo threw snow back at her and pulled free, but Shale made it to base with the flag.

"Slytherins' win!" Lily said boisterously to her cousin, tweaking his nose playfully. Hugo did not look as amused as he would have normally, but grinned at his slightly younger cousin.

"Next time, Potter," Hugo threatened laughing as he started to walk away to join the Gryffindors. "I'll get you next time."

"Anytime Weasley," Lily teased as she walked backwards away from him. She laughed at him and almost tripped backwards over a snow covered root. She reached out and grabbed the first body that her hand could grab. She blushed as she righted herself, groaning inwardly as she realized she had grabbed Scorpius who was just returning from Hogsmead.

"Sorry," Lily said as she brushed the snow from her clothes, averting her eyes. "I'll watch where I'm walking."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her as she nodded at him once, retreating quickly to join Kate and Shale who were waiting to join her to rush downstairs to change into dry clothes before dinner. She glanced back at Scorpius who had remained on course to the common room at a more even pace than the shivering first years, who were alternating between walking fast and walking slow. She thought better of keeping her eyes forward when she stumbled again from not paying attention, nearly taking Shale down with her.

"What are you doing?" Shale asked as Lily started to remove her cloak in the middle of the corridor while she walked. "It's freezing in here."

"I'm freezing and this thing is soaked, more so than my clothes," Lily said. "I don't want to catch a cold or something."

"How'd you three manage to get sopping wet?" Scorpius inquired as he fell into step behind them.

"Snowball fight," Lily said.

"It was awesome," Shale said excitedly. "I won the whole thing for Slytherin."

Lily laughed and nodded. The three of them continued on, even as Scorpius passed them and headed through the portrait hole. He stopped and waited for the three first years.

"You're face is rosy," Scorpius smirked quietly to Lily. "You may want to go get some warm, dry clothes on so that you don't get sick."

"Can I come by and see Ash and her kitten," Lily asked suddenly. Scorpius hesitated. She clutched her hands in front of her begging him. "Please, Scorpius. I won't stay long."

"Fine, fine," Scorpius said rolling his eyes as a smile played on his lips. Lily squealed and threw her arms around him, catching him off guard. "You're wet, Lily. Let go."

"Sorry, sorry," Lily laughed as she pulled away.

"Go get changed. The Halloween Festival is tonight. Trust me, you don't want to miss it," Scorpius said. Lily grinned and ran off to join Kate.

Kate raised an eyebrow at Lily as she entered the dormitory. Lily was grinning as she undressed and redressed in a fresh, dry school uniform. Lily made a face at her but said nothing. They had an unspoken rule about voicing when the other was acting too school girlish. Lily stood in front of the mirror, her uniform shirt still not buttoned.

"When do you think we'll get breasts?" Lily asked as she looked at the flatness of her undershirt.

"I don't know, but I hope soon," Kate said. "I'd like to start attracting boys."

"Like Shale?" Lily asked. Kate turned bright red and averted her eyes. Lily grinned and buttoned her top up.

"He already likes someone," Kate mumbled. Lily tucked her shirt into her skirt and finished up the final touches.

"That person pales in comparison to you, Kate," Lily said adamantly. "I mean, really. Who is better than you, Kate Rosier?"

"Too funny," Kate grumbled.

"He'll come around," Lily promised as they exited the dormitory. Shale was patiently waiting.

"Who'll come around?" Shale asked curiously. Kate blushed.

"Professor Longbottom," Lily said shaking her head. "He's always getting on to us for being Slytherins."

"Sure it's got nothing to do with the amount of talking you girls do during Herbology?" Shale asked not picking up on Lily's little white lie. Lily made a noise of contempt and punched him in the shoulder.

"As if," the girls both said stalking away as they left Shale to rub his injured arm.

Lily took her customary path to the Great Hall, Kate tagging along. As they passed windows, they could see the snow pelting the windows in chunks again and both girls shivered from the draft. They were excited that they were going to their first Halloween Dinner at Hogwarts. The two entered, their mouths agape in awe as they looked around. They shrieked with excitement, though the sound couldn't be heard over the din of the rest of the school. All two hundred and eighty students were eager to celebrate. Giant pumpkins were everywhere, delicately carved into the most gruesome faces.

The Great Hall was pitch dark with only the light from strategically placed candles lighting the way. Kate and Lily gripped each other tightly in excitement over how thrilling it was to see the ghouls dining with the students. Lay before them was the greatest feast, greater than any that most had seen. It truly was the best Halloween Feast that the first years had ever seen. The students laughed and ate and spent a great bit of time intermingling. Lily practically dragged Kate and Shale over to meet her big brothers and her cousins.

Lily threw her arms around the neck of her scowling older brother, refusing to let up until he finally laughed and promised to not hold against her the fact that she was not a Gryffindor. Lily enjoyed the time she spent with her family and was disappointed when the night drew to a close. First and second year students were sent back to their common room first, at ten. Kate, Shale, and Lily reluctantly left the Great Hall and the older kids to ready for bed.

The Slytherin house was still a bit on the chilly side as Lily dressed in her sweat pants and tee shirt. She frowned, thinking more of the brief conversation that she and Kate had had earlier in the evening. She needed only to look around at the older girls to realize that she was lacking a lot in the upper chest region. Frowning at her boyish reflection, Lily headed towards the third year boys' dormitory. She figured it'd give her easily an hour to play with Ash and the kitten before the third year boys ran her out. She found Ash and the kitten smack dab in the middle of Scorpius' bed. Without a second thought, she climbed onto his bed and petted the cat.

"You know, it's rude to climb into a bloke's bed without at least some sort of permission," a voice said, startling Lily. She pushed herself up on her arms. She yawned sleepily despite herself.

"Ash gave me permission," Lily lied as she rested her head back down on her arm, her back to Scorpius.

"Oh, so my demon cat gave you permission, did she?" Scorpius said as he made no motion towards or away from Lily.

"Mhmm, yes," Lily murmured as she played with the cat's collar.

"You going to stay," Scorpius asked as he walked in front of the mirror. Lily could see his face in the refection. She watched as he undid his tie and dropped it on the bed. She found herself holding her breath as he stripped off his shirt and pulled on a tee shirt. He glanced at her, a curious smile on his face. His fingers went to his trouser button and Lily jumped up, her face bright red.

"I should go," Lily said as she sprinted out of the dormitory. She retreated to the safety of her own dormitory, thankful only Kate was there. Lily threw herself across the bed.

"You've seen him, haven't you?" Kate asked curiously. "I thought I saw Scorpius come in."

"Yeah," Lily said looking at her.

"You're blushing!" Kate said grinning. Lily blushed harder.

"I think I have a crush on him," Lily moaned before burying her face into the pillows.

"No!" Kate gasped. She climbed next to Lily.

"Yeah," Lily mumbled. "I realized it when I was watching him undress…"

"You watched him undress?" Kate asked scandalized. Lily's face turned even redder.

"Well, no," Lily exclaimed. "I mean he took his shirt off, but yeah, and he was going to take his pants off, so I got out of there."

"BOYFRIEND," Kate squealed and hugged Lily, nearly crushing the girl. Lily wiggled to get free of Kate. She shook her head.

"Not a chance," Lily said. Kate pouted.

"Why not?" Kate said.

"He's a third year and so not going to be into me," Lily whispered as others started coming in the room. "I mean, I sent him to the hospital wing with an ill hit bludger, he's probably into girls like Celeste Nott or Elena Goyle."

"We could always stuff our bras," Kate giggled. Lily and she nearly fell of the bed in a fit of tears.

"There's one other reason," Lily said as she sobered slightly from the giggling.

"And that would be?" Kate asked.

"My brother, James," Lily murmured. "All I have heard since James met Scorpius is how much he hated him. What would my brother say if he knew I have a crush on Scorpius?"

"Well, I still think you should try to get him to notice you," Kate said. "More than you tripping in front of him and stuff. Some less dorky way than you've been acting around him."

"Hey," Lily laughed. "I'm only ever going to be me."

* * *

Lily couldn't sleep. She couldn't help but think about Scorpius, to which each time she'd turn over in a huff while her face was on fire. Despite the frostiness of the air, Lily picked up a book and headed to the common room. She sat down in a chair that was practically sitting inside the fireplace. She leaned toward the fire, opening the thick book. It wasn't long before her head rested against the crook of the chair and her eyes were closed. She wasn't asleep, not fully when she felt a blanket be placed over her. She sighed softly and opened her eyes just as a pair of lip brushed hers ever so gently. Without thinking, Lily punched him in the face.

"Merlin, Lily, what the heck!" Shale said holding his nose.

"What do you think you were doing?" Lily asked as she jumped up angrily.

"I don't know. I just thought…" Shale said. His voice was nasally from a broken nose. Blood poured down the front of his clothes.

"You thought what?" Lily demanded.

"I thought you liked me," Shale said.

"I do," Lily said.

"No, I mean as a girl friend," Shale said. "You kissed my check out in during the snow fight."

"I kissed Kate's too. It doesn't mean I want to date her, either," Lily reminded. "I'm not into you, not like that. You and I are friends. Kate's the one that likes you."

"K-Kate likes me?" Shale asked.

"Uh-huh, yes," Lily said as she wiped her mouth off. "Let pretend this never happened so things don't get awkward between us, and why don't you try to chat Kate up and see where it goes."

"Lily," Shale said as he continued to bleed freely from his nose.

"Yeah, Shale?" Lily asked. Shale looked pallid and ready to faint.

"You think you could wake someone up to take me to the hospital wing?" Shale asked. Lily hesitated before nodding.

"Who?" Lily asked as she stood before the doors to the boys' dormitories.

"I don't care, anyone," Shale said as he continued to pool blood. Lily felt a little light headed as she saw the amount of blood pouring from Shale.

"Sit down, I'll go get help," Lily said.

"Oh, and Lily, please, you didn't punch me," Shale said. Lily nodded; understanding as she jerked opened one of the dormitory doors, the third years, and jetted over to Scorpius' bed side. She grabbed his shoulder and gently shook him awake. He looked annoyed and surprised to see her standing over him, her hand on his bare shoulder. He shifted slightly under her hand.

"I was in the middle of a really good dream," he complained.

"I'm sorry," Lily said quietly. "My friend Shale needs someone to walk him down to the hospital wing."

"So take him," Scorpius said squirming under his blankets slightly. "Think you might want to take your hand off my shoulder a bit?"

"Sorry," Lily said pulling her hand back. She sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can't take him. It would be hard to explain."

"Hard to explain?" Scorpius yawned as he sat up a little. He touched her arm, causing her to turn to him. "What were you doing with him? It feels like it is late."

"It is late, er, well really early actually. He and I were just talking," Lily said. Scorpius looked at her with an eye brow raised slightly. "Please, please take him down there for me."

"All right, Lils, I'll take him down to the hospital wing," Scorpius said with a slight grin. "I can't have your reputation tarnished."

"Oh, thanks so much, Scorpius," Lily said throwing her arms around his neck. She went to kiss him on the cheek, just for him to turn. Their lips met quickly, her eyes shooting wide open. She pulled back as if he had burst into flames.

"No worries," Scorpius said coolly as Lily retreated from his bed at an alarming rate. Lily waited in the common room with Shale still bleeding; as Scorpius walked into the common room. He was pulling a shirt over his head.

"Thanks man," Shale said nasally as he wiped his face with his palms. Scorpius jerked a bunch of tissues from a box and held it out to the boy. He looked at the two rather embarrassed and guilty looking first years. Shale held the wad of paper to his nose.

"What did you do?" Scorpius asked.

"Walked into a wall," Shale said.

"A wall did this to you?" Scorpius asked skeptically. He looked at Lily, who looked away quickly with her face on fire.

"_Er_, yeah," Shale said nodding.

"Whatever you want me to believe," Scorpius said. "Come on, let's go. I want to get back to bed. I was having an awesome dream before_ she _so rudely woke me up."


	6. Christmas Surprises

AN: Thank you to all who have taken the time to read and review. I have enjoyed reading the reviews and they give me the encouragement I need to continue. Safe to say that this one is a bit on the long side (understatement of the year, I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written). Read and Review!

Disc.: The characters were created by someone else, for the most part... sort of...

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Christmas Surprises

Lily walked alone down the corridor, not so much aimlessly, but still without purpose. She smiled, trying to make herself feel better about things but at the moment, she couldn't help but be slightly jealous. If it wasn't for her, they'd not be together, and while she was happy that they were happy, it didn't end her jealousy. She didn't like being jealous of her two best friends, but she did worry. She had just left the two of them laughing and carrying on in the Great Hall.

It was the day before Christmas Holiday, and despite being caught up on almost all of her work, Lily found herself heading to the library. As odd as it sounded, she needed the quiet. She was trying to get caught up with the holiday spirit, but she had begun to feel like a third wheel around them, around everyone. She really was happy that they were so happy. She even could look past the fact that Kate never shut up about Shale when they were apart.

Lily entered the library and found a small table by the window. She tucked herself in the chair closes to the wall and opened the thick book. She rested her arms on the table, head in her hands as she read slowly the words. She hated that she was a little jealous, but she hated it more that it seemed like she was being casted aside, even if only slightly. She sighed and looked up to see Scorpius walk into the library, looking very much like he was hiding from someone as well. He saw her just as she went to hide behind her book.

"Are you still embarrassed about kissing me?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked up at him, her face a mix of embarrassment and resentment.

"It was an accident," she hissed at him. She looked away, focusing on her book. She groaned aloud as he took the seat across from her.

"Lily, it happened weeks ago," Scorpius laughed. Lily looked at him slightly annoyed. "It was _cute_, but totally nothing, you know? You should move on. You've been acting weird around me since."

"I didn't kiss you on purpose," she defended. "And I've _not _been acting weird around you."

"Yes, you have," Scorpius said grinning at her. "And it's really cute, really, but I am almost three years older than you. You understand why it wouldn't be a good idea, right?"

"I don't have and ideas about you, and I'm not asking anything of you," Lily laughed. "I can't tell you _enough_, it was an accident. I _meant_ to kiss your cheek. You turned your head. End of story."

"End of story?" Scorpius challenged. Lily forced herself to grin.

"Yes, end of story," Lily said. She smirked at him and focused on her book. "Plus, you're not my type."

"You're eleven years old. How do you even _have_ a type," Scorpius challenged. She laughed, looking up at him.

"I have a type," Lily said. Heat rose to her cheeks slightly, which did not go ignored by Scorpius. He grinned.

"You're blushing," Scorpius told her. She laughed and ducked behind her book.

"I am not," Lily lied from behind her book. Scorpius pulled the book away from her. She looked at him. "Yes?"

"So, what is your type, then, Lily?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm not telling you!" Lily exclaimed.

"Why not?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't know. Maybe because you're a _guy_," Lily said emphatically. She frowned at him.

"Yeah, but I'm also your friend," Scorpius said holding her book from her. She laughed.

"What's going on here?" James asked standoffishly. Lily looked at him, seeing Scorpius lay her book down on the table before her.

"Just a friendly chat between two Slytherins," Scorpius smirked as he stood. He knocked on the table with his fist, drawing Lily's attention from her brother back to him. "I'll catch you later in the common room and we can continue to chat."

"Ok," Lily said nodding. He smiled at her and she smiled reactively. Scorpius walked away and James took his seat across from her, scowling. "Don't give me that look, James."

"I don't like the rumors I've been hearing," James said.

"Rumors are just rumors," Lily commented looking back at her brother.

"These rumors have you in Scorpius' bed, kissing him," James said crossing his arms. Lily felt her face go bright red. "So they're true then?"

"It's not what you think," Lily said as her face practically burst into flames.

"You're a little girl, Lily, he's a guy," James said concerned. "Look, houses aside, boys our age don't want good things from girls what so ever. Our thoughts and actions are not things I want you to get mixed up in."

"And what thoughts and actions would those be?" Lily asked looking at him. She was genuinely curious. It was James' turn to blush.

"I don't know, really, if I should be the one having this conversation with you," James said shaking his head.

"You're blushing bright red," Lily teased.

"You should ask Mum or Dad about it," James mumbled as he stood, eager to put some serious distance between himself and this sudden line of questioning. "See you on the train tomorrow."

"Oh, and James, it's really sweet that you're so protective, but I think I can handle myself," Lily laughed, waving at her brother. She was curious, what exactly James was talking about, and decided she would ask her parents over winter break.

Lily remained in the library, thankful it was considerably warmer than the Slytherin common room. She tried reading her book, but couldn't focus. She rested her chin on her hand and stared off into space. She let her mind wander over randomness and found herself reliving the events of that night in her head. Her face was on fire from it, she realized and she coughed, nearly choking on the idea. She really had a major crush on Scorpius, more than she thought. She wanted to kiss him again.

"I have to talk to someone!" Lily exclaimed loudly, getting her a dirty look from Madame Pince. Lily didn't care and hurried out of the library in search of someone to talk to. She first thought of Kate and Shale, but knew that neither would have the experience she was looking for. Lily's mind reeled dismissing this or that person for various reasons, and then it hit her, literally. She ran straight into Rose, knocking them both into a suit of huffy armor.

"Where's the fire, Lily?" Rose asked as she pulled herself up off the ground.

"Can I talk to you, woman to woman?" Lily begged with her hands gripped in front of her tightly. Rose looked at her and nodded at once, the two headed into the girls' third floor bathroom

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"You have to promise, no swear not to tell anyone, not even James," Lily said. Rose looked at her uncomfortably.

"Lily, James and I tell each other everything," Rose said slowly. "He and I are best friends."

"Please, Rose, I don't know who else to talk to," Lily said.

"Does this have to do with that rumor about you and Scorpius?" Rose asked. Lily turned bright red.

"Please, can I have your word?" Lily begged. Rose hesitated, look at the small girl wringing her hands. Rose sighed and nodded.

"Of course, Lily," Rose said. Rose sat back as Lily talked for ten minutes straight barely breathing between sentences. She was gesturing while she talked, her expression running the gamut of emotions as she replayed everything in detail, adding her thoughts and feelings. Lily took a shaky breath at the end and Rose looked at her. "Merlin, Lily."

"I know," Lily said as she crossed her arms.

"I mean, I understand, I do," Rose said quietly. "Scorpius is good looking and popular, no doubt, but the ages alone are enough to make one worry."

"I know," Lily said defeated.

"And James didn't clarify anything with his whole _guys are out for one_ thing spiel?" Rose asked carefully. Lily shook her head.

"No. He told me to ask talk to Mum and Dad about it," Lily said. Rose nodded slightly.

"Maybe we should sit down, this could take a while," Rose said. Lily nodded. The two opted to sit on the floor under the large windows, facing the door so that no one could sneak up on them talking. "You do know about that whole becoming a woman thing with the cycle starting and what not?"

"Yeah, Dad had to tell me about that," Lily said with her face suddenly on fire. Rose laughed.

"That had to be an interesting experience. I started when it was Dad and I home and I swear I thought he was going to die. He said he'd be back to get help. I thought he'd bring a healer or call Mum or something," Rose said grinning. "I was your age, eleven."

"I know," Lily said glancing at the floor. "Uncle Ron came to get Dad."

"No!" Rose exclaimed, her own cheeks turning pink.

"Yeah, he was all freaking out trying to get Dad to come over there to deal with you," Lily said. "Dad gave him the supplies and sent him back to you. I thought you knew."

"No!" Rose said covering her face for a minute. "How embarrassing!"

"Yeah, well, I was sitting right there and I started asking questions, and my dad explained that part of life for me. At least originally you had Aunt Hermione to explain it to you, even if Uncle Ron was the one who had to rescue you."

"Um, true," Rose said. The two sat there silently for a moment before bursting into embarrassed laughter. The both couldn't but imagine the look of the look of Ron Weasley with his face bright red with embarrassment and discomfort.

"So, you were going to explain things?" Lily prodded gently.

"Yeah," Rose said taking a deep breath. She proceeded to explain the whole '_birds and bees_' conversation, adding warning of not practicing safe sex. Lily was quiet, taking it all in, without saying a word. Rose gave her the most straight forward, uncensored information including information that Lily hoped to have never heard in her life.

"Wow," Lily said after Rose stopped talking. She looked a little green.

"Yeah, it's a lot of information," Rose agreed.

"I… I don't think I will _ever_ want to do that," Lily said rather uncertainly. Rose grinned.

"I don't know, with the right guy it might be good," Rose said. Lily looked at her.

"Um, have you?" Lily asked. Rose blushed but shook her head.

"I want to be a bit older, you know," Rose said. "I want it to be with the right guy."

"I still don't think I will ever want to," Lily said. Rose patted her shoulder.

"Well, now you know what guys are usually after," Rose said. "So, stay out of Scorpius' bed and definitely don't go around kissing him."

"Do the feeling ever go away?" Lily asked.

"The feelings of wanting to kiss him? Yeah, sometimes," Rose said. Lily hesitated.

"When I become a woman, can I come to you if I have any questions?" Lily asked. Rose hugged her.

"You're my little cousin, of course you can come to me," Rose said hugging her. "And trust me, cousin; I'll keep your secrets."

"Thank you Rose," Lily said hugging her tighter.

"What's family for?" Rose asked.

"And you'll not tease me, will you?" Lily asked.

"About being in love with Scorpius? Not a chance," Rose said. She grinned as they parted. "At least not in front of anyone but us."

"Thanks Rose," Lily said. The girls stood to leave the bathroom. "Hey Rose?"

"Yeah?" Rose asked.

"When did you get your breasts?" Lily asked hesitantly. Rose looked down to the front of her shirt.

"When I was about your age," Rose said. "Don't worry. You'll get breasts and a period before you know it and you'll rue the day."

"Rue the day?" Lily asked confused.

"Trust me, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when it happens to you," Rose laughed gently. "I have to go get some things ready for the Christmas Holiday, but I'll see you on the train."

* * *

Lily sat at the table, eating breakfast with her brothers and for the first time since she had left for school it felt like the good old days. James was actually grinning at her, taking enormous bites of his cereal, chewing it up and showing it Albus and Lily. Both of them would start laughing until one of their parents looked over at them, then the three of them were straight faced as if nothing was happening. The minute Harry or Ginny would look away; they'd start in on it again.

"Look, the post," Ginny said absentmindedly as she threw open the window. She continued to look half asleep and sip her coffee. A large barn owl soared in, dropping the random letter in the bin before flying out. Ginny growled some foul word and fished them out of the rubbish.

"I've tried moving it, the owl still insists on dropping it in there," Harry said gently as Ginny thrust the letters into his hand and went back to sipping her coffee. Harry flipped through, ready to close the window Ginny left open when a magnificent golden eagle soared it lazily and landed before Lily. Hesitantly, nervously, she took the letter attached to his leg.

"Ooh, Lily's got a love letter," Albus teased. Lily rolled her eyes and looked at the handwriting. She wasn't familiar with it, the elegant loops and swirls of the letters. She opened it slowly, wishing that her family wasn't staring at her. She glanced at the ornate silver parchment, written upon in emerald green ink.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"We've been invited to the Slytherin Christmas Ball," Lily said hesitantly. She looked up at her parents. "All of us. The parents and siblings of Lily Potter are hereby invited to 191st annual Slytherin Christmas Ball for all Slytherins and Alumni."

"Wow, I didn't know they had a ball," Ginny said looking at Harry for confirmation. Harry shrugged.

"Where's it being held, honey," Harry asked looking at Lily. Lily read it over and felt her face flush slightly.

"Malfoy Manor," Lily choked out.

"I'm not going," James said shaking his head. "Not a chance."

"If James' not going, I'm not going," Albus piped up. Lily kicked him under the table and turned to her parents.

"Please Mum. Please Dad," Lily begged, her hands gripped in front of her. "I'm a Slytherin and this is so important to me."

"I don't know, Lily," Ginny said. "I mean these will be Death Eaters and…"

"Not every Slytherin is a Death Eater!" Lily said jumping up angrily. "Just like every Gryffindor wasn't a hero! Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and he served up Grandmother Lily and Grandfather James to Lord Voldemort himself."

"Lily, you will not talk to us that way," Ginny snapped at her youngest child.

"But it's true!" Lily cried. "If every Slytherin is bad and should be hated and feared; then _I'm_ bad, _I_ should be hated. _I _should be feared!"

"Lily, I never said… _Lily_! Come back here!" Ginny called as Lily ran upstairs, her bare feet falling silently on the stairs. Lily jerked opened her bedroom door and slammed it loudly, throwing herself across her bed. She felt the tears betray her as she thought about it. The more she thought about it, the more the tears came until her pillow was damp.

"Lily?" Harry asked quietly as he entered the room. Lily didn't move or indicate that she knew he was there, just continued to let the tears silently stream down her face. She was going to be the only Slytherin that didn't attend the ball, not with parental support. Harry sat on the bed, resting his hand on Lily's back. "Look, your mother didn't mean for it to come out like that way. You have to forgive her for that. Your mother can't help that she lost her brother and hasn't really gotten over it, just like I lost my parents. It's hard to let go of the past."

"She hates me," Lily sobbed.

"Your mother doesn't hate you," Harry said.

"She hates that I am a Slytherin," Lily cried.

"I admit, it was a shock to have you sorted into Slytherin, but its' where you belong," Harry told his daughter. "Powerful witches and wizards can sprout from any house, just like dark witches and wizards. I know you will always make the right decision, Lily. Of all my children, I worry about you the most… and yet, I worry about you the least."

"I really want to go to this ball," Lily said sniffling as her father sat her up and hugged her. "Even if I have to go alone, I just don't want to be the only Slytherin that doesn't go."

"I can guarantee that you are not going to go anywhere alone, not at eleven years old. Let me talk to your mom and see what we can come up with," Harry said.

"Thank you, Daddy," Lily said as her father released her.

"You're welcome, pumpkin," Harry said as he left her side and her room.

It was to no surprise to Lily to find herself and her mother standing in a dress shop later that week. She knew her father would fight tooth and nail to make her happy, and he had succeeded in convince Ginny into agreeing to at least make an appearance at the ball. The shop owner knew immediately what the two would need for the ball and immediately went to work finding Ginny a simple gold ball gown with maroon-ish red accents. Ginny was thrilled with the way it looked, as well as supporting her Gryffindor heritage. Once Ginny was settled, the shop keeper looked at Lily, sizing her up.

"You, my dear, a dress has already been put on hold for you," the shop keeper said simply. Lily looked at her mother confused, but Ginny didn't have any answers and instead shrugged at her.

"We didn't put any dress on hold," Ginny explained. The shop keeper nodded, but said nothing more as she disappeared into the back. Ginny continued to sit as the shop keeper came out, carrying a large bag.

"It is a one of a kind dress," the shopkeeper told them as she unzipped the bag. Ginny and Lily both gasped at the magnificent dress the shop keeper procured from the bag. It was emerald green, floor length, with tiny silver buttons along the back. It had silver trimmings and looked elegant.

"It's beautiful," Ginny said with her voice full of awe.

"Yes, it is," the shopkeeper said proudly. "Sterling silver buttons, you don't see that kind of attention to detail."

"We… we can't afford a dress like that," Ginny said. Lily looked at her almost pleading, but knew her mother was right. A dress like that couldn't be affordable by any standards. Lily felt her heart and stomach battle between wanting the dress and knowing that she couldn't have it.

"It's already been paid for," the shopkeeper said simply as she pulled out a pair of matching dressing slippers.

"What? By who?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Potter, but I have strict rules about confidentiality and my cliental," the shopkeeper said. She smiled at Lily. "Let's get you into this dress and see if we need to do anything. The client seemed certain that nothing would need to be done."

Lily took the dress and headed into the dressing room, removing her clothes until she stood there in just her knickers. She frowned at her boyish figure as she pulled the dress on, carefully. The shop keeper helped Lily button the tiny little buttons. Lily was a bit embarrassed and shy about having her back exposed until the buttons were secure. She stepped out in to the mirror circle so that her mother could see.

"Oh, Lily," Ginny said. "You look so pretty."

"I have to say, it's a perfect fit," the shop keep said nodded. "I was hesitant when I saw how light you were in the top, but the dress cut wouldn't work with much more."

"She'll grow," Ginny defended quickly. Lily frowned.

"Of course she will," the shopkeeper said as she saw Lily's frown. "Petite is beautiful, though, so hopefully you won't grow too quickly. Oh, to be nine again."

"I'm eleven! Almost eleven and a half," Lily said. The shopkeeper looked at her and quickly hid her surprise.

"Oh, honey you will grow," the shopkeeper said quickly. "Some of the most beautiful flowers take longer to bloom." Lily laughed, thinking about the fact that her name was a flower name and how she was being compared to a flower that had yet to bloom. "Well, everything is set. The dresses will be delivered in a few days time, just before the Slytherin Ball."

"I wonder who would have gifted you such a lovely dress," Ginny murmured as the two sat in the Leaky Cauldron after leaving the shop. Ginny watched as heat crept up Lily's neck and cheeks but she hid behind her butter beer.

"Dunno," Lily said. She felt herself get warmer; the thought of only one person who could have done it came to mind. She pushed him from her mind, refusing to think about it. Scorpius had been clear, they were only friends.

Christmas morning, the morning of the ball, came without warning, to Lily who had first thought the day would never come, then that it was coming too quickly. Lily bound down the stairs shortly before dawn, banging on her brothers' doors as she sped past them into the living room of their home. She flipped the switch on the coffee maker, knowing the smell would drive her mother from bed. Lily squealed with delight, the mounds of packages surround the trees. She mentally went over it, first presents with the family, and then Rose and Hugo would come over for breakfast. The seven of them would go to Grandma Weasley's for midday meal. James and Albus would stay with Grandma Weasley while Lily and her parents came home to ready for the Slytherin Ball.

"Merlin, Lily, the sun is not even up," James complained as he rubbed his eyes, descending the stairs sleepily.

"The sun is never up, it seems, and anyways, it' Christmas! Happy Christmas, James," Lily said as she threw her arms around her brother, nearly knocking him down. He grabbed the table to steady himself and laughed as Albus bumbled down after him.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," James laughed. "Now, let go."

"A'right," Lily sighed, letting him go. She hesitated and jumped on Albus, hugging him until he started coughing.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," Albus gasped. "Merlin, you're going to kill me."

"Lily, let go of your brother," Ginny mumbled as she stumbled down the stairs. "Coffee! My children for some coffee!"

"Mum, you can't trade us for coffee," the three laughed. Ginny had already begun pouring her cup to the brim.

"Happy Christmas, kids," she said after she had taken a long swig of the coffee. The three attacked her, embracing their mother. Harry came down, delighted to see his family smiling and grinning.

"Who wants to do presents?" Harry asked flippantly, much to the cheers of the children. For twenty minutes, it was sheer chaos in the Potter house. Squeals of laughter and cheers of delight filled the house. In a part magic, part muggle household, it meant that the kids got gifts from both ends of the spectrum. Harry and Ginny wanted to make sure that their children didn't have the issues that Ron had had the first few years he had lived in the muggle world.

"Happy Christmas, all," Ron said as he entered through the back door. For once, Hermione didn't admonish him for knocking, just shrugged at Ginny as she entered. Hugo and Rose came in, excited to talk about the toys and clothes that they had received, both magical and non-magical. Hermione had brought a plate of cookies for the kids to eat later, after breakfast, which she and Ginny had already set the pots and pans in motion. Normally, they'd have done it themselves, but the women were enjoying their holiday, as well, and so the pans were put on autopilot with minimal supervision.

"Lily got some bras," Albus teased as the kids sat off from the adults who were engaging in lively chatter and sipping coffee.

"Why?" Hugo asked. "It's not like she's got anything to put in it."

Lily wanted to haul off and punch them both, but knew that it could get her grounded from the ball. Instead, Lily rolled her eyes and slipped a few _Ton-Tongue Toffee_ in the regular toffees, knowing that by the end of the day, Hugo and Albus would have polished off the entire tin of toffees. She smirked, knowing that Rose had seen Lily commit the act of cousinly treason, yet said nothing.

"Look, the hawk's back," James said pointing out the golden hawk that was pecking at the window. Lily worried that she was being uninvited to the ball and her stomach twisted into knots as Harry opened the window. A small parcel, about the size of a pastry box was attached to its legs and Lily immediately freed it of its burden. The hawk flew out without another word. Lily looked at the box, spotting movement in one of the dark holes that had been drilled into the sides of the cardboard box.

Something white swiped at Lily's shaking fingers as she untied the twine that bound the box. She felt her heart racing as she jerked off the top. Her scream punctuated the quiet of the house as she reached into the box and scooped up a tiny fluffy white mass of hair.

"Someone sent you a dust ball?" Albus said, though his speech was a bit muffled from the enlarged tongue. Ginny shook her head and handed him and Hugo the antidote, knowing all too well that they had managed to get into some of the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes.

"No! It's a kitten!" Lily squealed as the kitten mewed. She held the familiar little kitten to her as if it was a little baby and fished the piece of paper out of the bottom of the box.

It read:

_Come to find out that the kitten isn't a girl, so I named him Asher. I couldn't think of what to get you, my friend, and then it came to me. Literally. Ash dropped him in my lap while I was mulling it over. I am one who believes in signs, so… Asher is yours. Happy Christmas._

Lily didn't even bother asking her parents, just hugged the kitten to her cheek, snuggling it. The kitten seemed intent on getting off the silver and green ribbons that Scorpius had tied around its neck. Lily pulled them free, her fingers caressing the emerald green collar with the silver bell and tag on it. She loved him, immediately. She had loved him at birth, and now she had him as her very own kitten. She didn't want to ever put him down but Ginny put her foot down about Lily holding him while she ate breakfast so the kitten was put down on the floor with a saucer of cream and a bit of leftover fish from the night before.

After breakfast, the kids headed out to the room above the garage where the kids spent most of their time watching movies or hanging out on any given day. It was a great recreation room with oversized chairs and couches. Lily carried Asher in her arms like a baby, to which the kitten didn't mind, having grown familiar with Lily at the school. The kids goofed off until it was time for them to floo over to Grandma Weasley's house. As usual, the house was warm and full of family festivities. Lily nearly forgot about the ball until Harry tapped her shoulder.

"If we are going to have time to fancy ourselves up, we need to get going," Harry told her. Everyone wished Harry and Ginny good luck among the enemy, only realizing two second too late that Lily was a Slytherin. Embarrassed, they followed up that they were kidding, but Lily scowled and was eager to be the first person to floo back home. Asher was there to greet her, purring and rubbing up against her. Harry and Ginny were right behind her. Asher hissed at them and Lily scooped him up, heading straight up to her room to start changing.

"You have to be a good boy, Asher, while Mummy's at the party," Lily told the kitty as she scratched his ear and under his chin. The cat purred loudly, sounding like a mini motor boat. Ginny entered Lily's room holding a box.

"I want you to wear this," Ginny said as she pulled out a silver and emerald necklace.

"But, how?" Lily asked looking at the simple necklace.

"We have Slytherin far enough back that we don't think of it, but when you were sorted, it just seemed fitting that you should have a bit of that part of you," Ginny said as she finished buttoning Lily up. With the necklace on, Lily looked like a princess. Her silver stud earrings were simple, so as not to take away from the dress and the necklace.

"Wow," Lily commented as she looked at her reflection. Ginny grinned as she styled Lily's hair in to the soft waves that apparent had bred into her from Harry's wild hair and Ginny's straight hair. Ginny fished two ornate hair pins out of the box, fixing them into Lily's hair. The silver contrasted beautifully with the dark auburn of her hair.

"Your Grandma Weasley wanted you to have the whole box, so there," Ginny said looking at her young daughter.

"Thank you, Mum," Lily said hugging her mother. She looked at her reflection. "Um, do you think I can wear some make up?"

"I think you'll have to stick to lip gloss," Ginny said grinning as she fished a tube of tinted lip gloss. Lily shook her head and picked up her cherry lip balm.

"This'll do," Lily said slipping it into her little purse. "I'm ready when you guys are. Asher, behave." The kitten purred loudly from Lily's bed.

Lily looked stunning when she entered the gates to Malfoy Manor. She walked ahead of her parents a little, eager to arrive. The driveway had been swept of the snow, and Lily was nearly tempted to run through the doors but she maintained control over the excitement. There was a man who waited at the door and Lily hesitated, the man looming over even normal sized guest as they approached.

"Names?" the man asked bored.

"Potter, Lily and parents," Harry said quietly as he held onto Ginny's arm.

"Very good, follow me," the man said dully. Lily followed behind her parents. "The child proceeds first as the Slytherin student or alumni."

"Ok," Lily said suddenly shy. She stepped between her parents and followed. The man stopped shortly at the top of the stairs that over looked a grand foyer. Lily was impressed and nearly knocked the man aside, only missing him and rolling down the stairs by Harry's swift grab. Lily looked at her father and wordlessly thanked him.

"Presenting Miss Lily Potter and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter," the man bellowed, startling Lily. A ripple of polite claps punctuated the chatter and then everyone returned to what they were doing. Lily carefully walked down the stairs, mindful to not trip. She missed the last step and fell straight on her face. To make matters worse, Scorpius had just stopped to talk to Elena Goyle.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah," Lily said quickly as her face turned bright red. Scorpius smiled and nodded.

"Watch that last step, it's a long one," Scorpius warned. "I think I saw the first years congregating over by the ice sculpture."

"We'll be mingling," Harry told Lily before wandering off, disappearing in the crowd. Lily wanted a chance to thank Scorpius but didn't want to do it under the watchful eyes of her parents or other Slytherins. Lily wandered over towards the other first years, and for a bit she forgot that her parents were there or that she intended on thanking Scorpius for Asher.

"It's getting hot in here," Kate said winking at Shale. "Shall we go for a walk? Lily'll come and be our chaperone."

"Er, yeah," Lily said though she really didn't want to wander outside without her cloak. Dutifully, Lily headed out the doors following after Shale and Kate. She stood on the patio while Kate and Shale disappeared from sight. Sighing, Lily looked up at the darkening skies as fat; fluffy snowflakes fell, clinging to her hair and eye lashes.

"You know, a child like you shouldn't be outside without a cloak on," a man said in a drawn sort of way. Lily jerked her head and looked at the elderly man with the gaunt face and sunken, dull tin eyes.

"I only stepped out for a bit of air," Lily explained.

"You're Potter's daughter, aren't you? You look a bit like him and that Weasley girl," the man said.

"I am Lily," she said extending her hand. The man shook it slightly, almost as if afraid to touch it.

"Pleasure," he said. "I am Mr. Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father."

"I thought so," Lily said looking at the old man. "You look like Mr. Malfoy a lot, I mean Mr. Draco Malfoy."

"You know my grandson, Scorpius," Lucius said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, sir," Lily said. The man's eyes flashed slightly red with warning.

"I have big plans for my grandson. I won't let anything or any_one_ stand in the way of that," he said coolly. "Do you understand?"

"Not really, sir," Lily said honestly. The man stepped closer, his cane in one hand, her arm in the other.

"I want you to stay away from my grandson," Lucius said. "There have been some nasty rumors and I will not have him tarnished. You may have been sorted Slytherin, but your worth has yet to be proven."

"What's going on out here?" Scorpius demanded as he stepped out onto the patio. Lily looked at him, almost a little frightened by the intensity of Lucius' words. Scorpius saw his grandfather release Lily's arm and step away.

"Nothing," Lucius said forcing a smile at his grandson.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked. Lily glanced at Lucius Malfoy quickly but shook her head.

"Nothing," Lily said quickly.

"Don't stay out here too long," Lucius said as he entered the manor. Scorpius looked at Lily concerned as he walked towards her. She started to walk away, but Scorpius caught her arm.

"What just happened?" Scorpius asked.

"Nothing," Lily said quickly. She looked away from him, over the snowy gardens.

"You can't lie to me, Lils," Scorpius told her.

"Your grandfather just wants me to stay away from you," Lily said simply. Scorpius frowned.

"He's not the boss of me," he said. Lily shrugged but didn't look back at him. He scratched the back of his head for a moment. "Hey, did you get my furry little Christmas gift?"

"Yes," Lily said as her face suddenly lit with happiness and excitement. Scorpius smiled. "Oh, he's perfect Score, he really is. I couldn't have asked for a better present. I love him."

"I'm glad you like him," Scorpius said.

"You were behind this dress, weren't you?" Lily asked uncertainly. Scorpius grinned but said nothing, at first.

"I don't know what you mean," Scorpius said as he fought and failed to suppress his grin. Lily threw her arms around him, catching him off guard.

"You are the best kind of friend," Lily said hugging him tightly.

"I'm glad you like it," Scorpius said. "I just wanted to make sure that there was nothing keeping you from coming to the Slytherin Ball."

"Thank you," Lily said still in his arms.

"You're freezing," Scorpius said after a minute. "We ought to get you back inside."

"I'm supposed to be chaperoning Shale and Kate," Lily said. Scorpius shook his head.

"I won't have you catching your death at my grandfather's manor to baby sit them," Scorpius said.

"Ok," Lily said. She waited though he made no move to move away from her and toward the crowds inside. "What?"

"Mistletoe," Scorpius said nodding to the arch that they were standing in.

"Oh," Lily said. Realization flooded over her and nerves twisted her insides.

"Well, it would be bad luck not to," Scorpius said as he put his hands on her face. "The things friends will do for other friends, just to keep the bad luck away." Lily grinned nervously but closed her eyes. She felt the soft pressure of Scorpius' lips on hers and mentally she counted the seconds that seemed to creep by. He released her after a good ten seconds.

"Gee, what a good friend you are, indeed," Lily teased and she headed back inside, her cheeks rosy, though it was undeterminable from the cold or the kiss. She glanced back at Scorpius, thankful she had chosen to wear the cherry lip balm. She grinned and disappeared from his sight.

'Let him remember my taste of cherry lip balm,' Lily thought with a grin as her parents waved to her, signaling that it was time to head on home.


	7. Third Year

A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I do appreciate it! To know that you are enjoying this as much as I am. This next chapter is different than the rest, and if it doesn't feel right, I will remove it. But let's give it a chance, ok? It's another long one. Be kind.

Disc.: The original character creation belongs to someone else.

* * *

Third Year

_"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Lily, Happy Birthday to you,"_ the family sung the familiar song, loudly and off key. Lily was center of the attention, a giant cake with thirteen candle sat before her.

"Make a wish, Lily," Ginny encouraged. "Blow out your candle." Lily closed her eyes tight and repeated over and over _'I wish I looked more grown up'_ before she took a deep breath and blew out all of her candle.

"I can't believe it," Harry murmured kissing the top of Lily's head. "My baby is thirteen."

"I can't believe James made prefect," Ron mumbled. Hermione elbowed him sharply in the side. Ron yelped and scowled at him. "What? Rose makes sense, but James?"

"Cake anyone?" Hermione asked loudly as she pushed ahead with a stack of plates.

Later that night, after the family had returned home, Lily stared at the ceiling that night, absent-mindedly stroking Asher's body with her fingers. He purred and walked across her body, nuzzling against her neck. Lily looked down at her dark silhouette, covered by the thin bed sheet. She still had a rather petite frame, still looked rather boyish. She had hoped cutting her hair to chin length would make her look older, but found it just increased her boyish look. She was lucky if she could call her breast size "A", especially compared to Rose. Even Kate had gotten her breasts, most noticeable during last years' Slytherin Ball where they nearly spilled out the top of her gown.

"Asher, I will never have that problem," Lily complained. Kate masked her pride in her breasts by complaining to Lily that they hurt her back and all the guys wanted to look at them. Asher purred loudly and put his slender paw on Lily's mouth. She laughed, knowing he wanted her to shut up and go to sleep. After all, she was heading back to Hogwarts in the morning.

Lily was quite on the car ride, Asher's basket in her lap. Albus and James were on either side of her, arguing about whether or not James could take points away from Albus for stuff done over the summer. Ginny turned around, holding out a piece of paper to Lily. Lily looked at it, grinning. It was her permission slip to go to Hogsmead. She had nearly forgotten that she would be able to go to Hogsmead this year.

"Now, remember," Ginny warned. "I do not want to get any bad notes home."

"Yes ma'am," they said. Lily glanced around.

"Dad said that he would try to be here, Lily, but you know things have gotten really busy at work," Ginny sighed. "I was only able to get away because I promised to pull a double."

"Do you miss Quidditch?" James asked suddenly. Ginny sighed.

"Sometimes, I really do. Working in at the Ministry isn't nearly as fun," Ginny said. She kissed the tops of their heads. "Don't miss the train. I wish I could stay to see you off. James, please make sure that Lily gets settle before you head off to do prefect duties."

"Will do, Mum," James said. Ginny nodded, kissing them all one more time before leaving the three on the platform. Lily held Asher's basket in her arms while James put her trunk on the train, finding an empty Slytherin compartment.

"Thanks James," Lily said. James shivered as the two exited the train and stood on the platform.

"I feel so dirty for having gone in there," James said shivering. Lily hit him on the shoulder. "Hey, you can't hit me. I'm a prefect."

"I can still torment you," Lily laughed. "Prefect status doesn't scare me."

"Good to know, Lils. Maybe you won't continue to run off on me," Scorpius said coming up beside her. "I made prefect."

"Congrats, Malfoy," Lily said crossing her arms slightly. Lily was slightly stand-offish, a complete change of personality from the moments before Scorpius came up and interrupted.

"How's Asher? How was your birthday?" Scorpius asked as he ignored James.

"Both good," Lily said without elaborating. She looked and saw Shale and Kate. "If you don't mind, I see Shale and Kate. I want to show them the compartment. Catch you later, James."

Lily skipped off to see Shale, who had grown just as much as Kate had grown, both looking well fit to their third year bodies. Next to them, Lily felt a momentary flash of jealousy as she sized up just a bit taller than the first years. Kate, of course, looked very womanly and curvy already. Lily snapped out of it as Shale threw his arms around Lily in a bone crushing hug.

"You two changed so much over the summer," Lily exclaimed as she lead them towards the train and into the compartment they had chosen.

"You too," Kate said winking. Lily looked down and shrugged.

"Ah, well, petite runs in my family," Lily said. "Somewhere." The other two laughed and loaded their trunks.

"There's nothing wrong with being smaller," Kate said. "I swear I don't fit into tops properly anymore and my back always aches at night."

"Mhmm," Lily murmured noncommittally as she kept her jealousy at bay.

Lily sat in the compartment, listening to Kate and Shale talk of their adventures over the summer. Lily nodded politely and thought of her own summer. It had been the dullest and most exciting summer ever. She had worked two days a week at her uncle's shop in the stock room. She had been happy not to have had to spend the entire summer following after the older kids or holed up in the recreation room at home, playing video games or watching movies.

"I have a boyfriend," Lily blurted out. Shale and Kate were mid sentence but stopped and looked at her with their mouths hanging open.

"A boy friend or a _boyfriend_?" Kate asked.

"A _boyfriend_," Lily said.

"Spill it, girly," Shale teased. Lily laughed and settled back. She pulled out a picture from her bag. She hesitated, gazing at the framed picture, before handing it to Shale. Kate leaned over to look at it.

"His name is Taryn Hurley," Lily said. "He goes to Durmstrang. He's a Quidditch player and is in his fifth year this year."

"And he's your boyfriend?" Kate asked. "He's so cute."

"Hey," Shale complained. Kate stuck her tongue out at him. He looked at the picture. "How'd you meet him?"

"His father came into town and I met him through our parents," Lily said grinning. She took the picture back as the compartment door slid open and Scorpius stood in the door way.

"What have we here?" He asked as he intercepted the picture. He held it in his hand.

"Give that back," Lily demanded.

"Mind yourself, Lils. I'm a prefect," Scorpius said crossing his arms. He looked at Shale and Kate. "Scram." Kate and Shale scrambled out of the compartment and Lily crossed her arms as he sat down across from her.

"Your being a prefect doesn't scare me, Malfoy," she said crossly.

"Look, you spent the better part of last year avoiding me like the plague," Scorpius said. "You actually ran away from me at the ball last year and sent back my Christmas gift."

"Ok," Lily said disinterested. "Can I have my picture back?"

"Isn't that cute," Scorpius said in a condescending way as he looked at it. "This is the boyfriend, is it?"

"Yes, my boyfriend," Lily said lowering her voice and leaning forward. "Just as you have Darla to keep you warm at night, Taryn did a damn good job bringing out the best in me."

Scorpius looked at her uncertainly, holding the picture. For a second, he looked hurt but he masked that look and released the picture. He stood as a frown on his face. Lily averted her eyes, looking at the picture of the boy from Durmstrang before she stowed it away in her bag above the seat. She knocked the top off of Asher's basket and he leaped out.

"Why are you so mad at me, Lily?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm not," Lily lied.

"I know you better than that," Scorpius said. "Ever since the end of first year, you've been distant and then you avoided me all year last year. What's the deal? What did I do?"

"What did you do?" Lily taunted angrily.

"Yeah, what did I do?" Scorpius said. Lily sat back down, glancing out the window. Scorpius moved toward her. Asher raked his claw across Scorpius' cheek. "What did you do; train him to attack?"

"No," Lily said as she stroked the cat.

"He's more of a demon than Ash," Scorpius said as he touched his cheek.

"Asher's not a demon," Lily snapped as she scooped him up in her arms. "You scared him, that's all. I think you're done talking and you should go."

"You didn't answer my question," Scorpius said. The door slid open and Darla Goyle stood there, her hands on her hips.

"That's where you ran off to," she cooed. "Lily did Scorpius tell you that his grandfather took us on a cruise?"

"That's lovely," Lily said sarcastically as she glared at the two of them. "I really think I will go visit my brothers."

"Yuck, Gryffindors," Darla said. "How do you even manage to survive that all summer?"

"If you'll excuse me," Lily said pushing through the two of them, Asher still in her arms.

"I heard she had to work all summer," Darla whispered to Scorpius so that Lily could hear. "Imagine a pauper Slytherin."

"Excuse me?" Lily snapped as she turned around. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Darla said quickly. She forced a smile. "See you in the dorm room."

Lily made a face as she turned and stalked out of the car. She found an empty compartment and slipped into it undetected. She pulled the shade down on the window and rested her head on her arm, curled up on the seat. She knew she'd be safe falling asleep if she willed it. Asher might actually have turned out more demonic than Ash. She closed her eyes, thinking back to the end of first year.

_ Things were going wonderfully between Scorpius and Lily; their friendship was coming along nicely. When they weren't busy, they'd hang out and talk out on the school grounds. Lily, though knowing that Scorpius insisted that they could only be friends, had fallen harder for him. Still she stayed persistent, eager to change his mind about her._

_"Hey, Lily," he said as he took a seat next to her out by the big tree by the lake. "What are you up to?"_

_"Nothing much," she said as she continued to link daisies. Asher was swatting at the flowers as she secured them._

_"Daisy chain?" he smirked. She playfully pushed him away and continued to link._

_"So you know, I think your rule that I'm too young for you is stupid," she said suddenly. She had been working up to that moment for weeks, uncertain as to how Scorpius would take it. He looked at her uncomfortably._

_"Lils, you know I like you, right? You must know that I do," he said. Lily laughed and nodded._

_"Don't worry about it, Score," Lily said quickly. She kissed him on the mouth quickly and crowned him with the daisies. "I won't always be seen as too young by you. I can wait."_

_"Lils, wait," Scorpius said as she scooped Asher up. "I wanted to talk to you a bit more."_

_"Can't," she called waving and laughing. "I'm to meet with Professor Perkins at his request."  
_

Lily groaned as she heard the announcement for pending arrival to Hogwarts. She pushed her way down the corridor with Asher in her arms, slipping into the compartment undetected. She stowed Asher back in his basket and pulled out her school robes, putting them on over her school uniform. She was smoothing her robes with her hands as Shale and Kate re-entered to dress. Kate was talking the whole time, but Lily wasn't really paying attention. She nodded politely as the train rolled to a stop. Lily watched the small first years were shuttled off towards the lake to ride the little boats

She climbed into the first carriage she came to and was thrilled that that a bunch of second years had decided to climb in without looking. They looked at her nervously but said nothing. The ride to the castle was quiet and for once, Lily felt like she could breathe. She said nothing to the second year students, and they said nothing at all. Lily didn't care that she made them nervous. As a third year, it was her duty to make them nervous.

Lily made sure she sat on the same side of the table as Scorpius so that she wouldn't have to look at him while she ate and be tempted to throw a potato with the fixings at his perfectly shaped head. There were so many people between them that she was actually able to relax and enjoy her meal. She knew that she'd have to face him, she just wasn't ready to, and avoiding him had worked thus far. She knew she could leisurely walk back to the common room after dinner since HE would be steering the ten newest Slytherins down into the belly of the school. She grinned and loosened up a bit, actually listening to Shale and Kate talk about their summer, forcing Darla's loud voice from her mind as she nodded and smiled.

At the end of dinner, the Great Hall emptied quickly of the students and Lily stood, ready to head to bed. She was quite full, quite warm, and she knew that Asher was probably wailing to get out of his basket to hunt mice. She felt a hand on her shoulder as she started to walk away. Turning, she suppressed her surprise to see the head of her house standing there. He loomed over her, not looking very pleased to be talking to her.

"Miss Potter, may I have a word with you?" He asked. His tone was bored sounding and Lily remembered her father mentioning that Professor Perkins reminded him of his own potions teacher, Professor Snape.

"Yes, sir," Lily said though she didn't like the idea of being held back from her bed a moment long er than needed.

"As you know, your friend Kate Rosier did not do too well last year in potions and barely scraped by with a passing grade," he said quietly.

"Right," Lily said.

"I want you to tutor Miss Rosier," Professor Perkins said. "I've already cleared it with both your parents."

"I… ok, yeah," Lily said nodding hesitantly. "It wouldn't look good on our house if she flunked out of potions, as a Slytherin or as a student whose head of house is the potion master."

"Exactly," he said. Lily smiled and for the first time ever, he nearly smiled. Lily was terrified, though she glanced behind her quickly to see the Great Hall was void of people.

"Well, sir, I should be heading along," Lily said. "Have a good evening."

"You too, Miss Potter," he said. Lily headed out of the now silent Great Hall to find the castle was silent. It was creepy how silent it was. Lily walked down the grand staircase to the dungeon level. She walked up to the portrait of the snotty woman.

"Password?" the portrait asked with her haughtiness that Lily couldn't stand. Lily hesitated. She didn't know the password.

"I-I don't know the password," Lily said honestly. The portrait smirked.

"No password, no entry," she said simply.

"Come on, you know I belong on the other side of your frame," Lily said. The portrait smirked again.

"Slytherin rules, school rules," she said. "For your safety, of course."

"Damn," Lily breathed as she sat down by the portrait, her ankles crossed in front of her. She crossed her arms and hoped that someone would be by soon. She closed her eyes momentarily as she heard footsteps coming her way, knowing already who it was. She didn't try to suppress the groan as Scorpius turned the corner and came into view.

"So, this is where you are," he said as he stood above her. He held out his hand, offering to help her up. She stood without it.

"I don't know what the password is," Lily said simply. Scorpius leaned towards her and she leaned away.

"I have to whisper it to you," he said frowning.

"Why? We're alone," she said. Suddenly her cheeks went bright red. "Go ahead, whisper it quickly." Scorpius leaned in, his mouth near her ear.

"You can't avoid me forever," he whispered. She pulled away scowling.

"Just tell me the password so I can free Asher and go to bed," Lily said frowning.

"That is the password," he said. "I got to choose the password and I figured that maybe if you hear that phrase enough, you'll finally understand that it's true."

Scorpius turned away and the picture portal opened, him stepping inside before it slammed closed behind him. The snotty lady in the portrait smirked.

"Password?" She inquired. Lily sighed.

"You can't avoid me forever," she said rather dejectedly. The portrait swung open and allowed Lily entrance to the common room. Asher was there, waiting to greet her with a loving purr.

"I let him out," Kate apologized as Lily walked in, carrying him. "He sounded like the devil was coming out of him."

"No worries," Lily said. "Did he scratch?"

"Yeah," Kate said holding up her arm.

"Asher, that's a naughty boy," Lily said as she placed the cat on the bed and began disrobing. A knock came to the door and the girls scrambled to pull their robes on before Darla headed off to answer it.

"You girls want to play some games?" Tavis asked. The girls agreed and promised to meet them in a few minutes. Four of the third year girls headed out into the common room. Lily chose to keep her distance and instead climbed into her bed, Asher joining her. She closed her eyes, unable to block out the memory of when her heart shattered into a million pieces.

_ He had told her that she was too young, that a first year and a third year had no business being more than friends and she had believed him because she thought he'd never lie to her. She didn't mind that they could only be friends because she enjoyed being his friend. If she could only ever be his friend, she could live with that, or so she told herself. She loved the way he made her feel special, the way he'd squeeze her hand under the table and the way he always listened when she went on and on about everything._

_He laughed at her jokes and occasionally would steal a hug from her when they'd part. Lily knew she wasn't his girlfriend, just a girl who was just a friend, but she liked to pretend. In her heart, she knew she could win him over, though she'd never be so bold to say it aloud. She only pretended no one was around, late at night, thinking of every moment that they shared together._

_It was just after Easter break, and Lily went searching for him. She had been so excited, having brought him a treat from her grandmother's kitchen. Lily held the palm sized white chocolate egg with the raspberry filling carefully in her hand, its cellophane crinkling as she went in search of him. She headed straight to the Slytherin common room. She saw him, in all his beauty and all his glory standing there with Darla. A wave of icy dread saturated her insides. Scorpius was kissing Darla. Scorpius was kissing a first year._

Lily swore quietly and buried her head under the pillow, much to Asher's displeasure. The cat walked the length of her body, kneading her back with his paw. She was glad he had more sense than to start clawing at her back. He mewed a few times before burrowing between the pillow and Lily's body. She sighed as his little head tucked against her throat and he began to purr. The warmth was soothing to her and Lily fell asleep before any of the other third year girls returned.

Lily was the first one up that morning, dressing in her school uniform before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The Hall was fairly empty as much of the school had stayed up way too late goofing off and catching up. She smiled at the few Slytherins that were sitting at the table already.

"You're up early," Damon said as he gestured to the other side of the bench. Lily hesitated before sitting across from the fifth year boy. He grinned and started piling an insane amount of food on his plate.

"I wasn't in the partying mood last night," Lily said as she went a little more conservative and opted for only two slices of bacon and a scoop of eggs. "You're going to make yourself sick if you eat all that."

"Bulking up for Quidditch," he said with his mouth full. He swallowed, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, I usually have better manners than that, than talking with my mouth full. I'm bulking up for Quidditch tryouts. They're being held on Saturday. Do you know Malvo Flint?"

"No," Lily replied.

"Oh, well he's our captain this year, a seventh year," Damon said. "You know how seventh years can be, so full of power because so many of them are already of age. Anyways, he wants to hold open tryouts for third thru seventh year students. You ought to tryout."

"Me?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I've seen you play during the pickup games," Damon said dismissively. Lily blushed slightly but didn't respond. "You have a hell of an arm on you. I think you'd make a right mean beater, even if you are on the smaller side."

"Gee, thanks," Lily replied. "I think."

"It's a compliment," Damon said. He leaned forward and pushed a few more piece of bacon on her plate. "Trust me, Lily. Eat the bacon and come to tryouts."

"I'll think about it," Lily said. She picked up the bacon and took a bite, nodding. Damon grinned at her but his smile faltered slightly as his eyes hit the door. Lily glanced over her shoulder to see Scorpius entering quickly, as if he was trying to escape someone. He glanced over his shoulder, frowning. He went back to the door and held it open for Darla to enter. Lily tensed up slightly but turned back to her breakfast.

"I can't stand that girl," Damon whispered as the two came closer. He averted his eyes, focusing on his plate as Scorpius took a seat next to Lily. Darla made a displeased sound.

"Darla, here's your plate," Scorpius said placing a plate on his other side. Lily cringed as she felt his arm brush hers as he had Darla sit on his left. Any other day, she would have excused herself to go somewhere, anywhere, else. Unfortunately, Lily had to stay put and wait for Professor Perkins to pass out the schedules. She was stuck sitting next to Scorpius. She contemplated just getting up and moving to another part of the long table, but she knew that she couldn't. Part of her hated herself because, despite it all, she'd kill to be Darla.

"Try outs are on Saturday," Scorpius told Damon.

"I know," Damon said nodding. "I was just telling Lily that she ought to try out. I think she'd make one hell of a beater."  
"Isn't that dangerous?" Darla asked sweetly. Lily hated the way that Darla spoke; she always sounded like she was an idiot when she talked and she knew that it was just an act. When it was just the girls, she talked crude like anyone else. She had the worst swearing habit, though Lily did have to admire her for being able to keep such control of things.

"I think Lily can handle herself," Damon said laughing.

"So, you're thinking of trying out? Which position?" Scorpius asked. Lily silently sighed.

"I was thinking beater, since it's always been a great source of release for me," Lily said simply, flatly.

"Usually beaters are a bit larger, muscular," Scorpius said. "Your size would be more fitting of a seeker or chaser."

"I'm trying out for beater," Lily said emotionless. She shoved a piece of bacon in her mouth and started to read the back of a cereal box, ending the conversation. She glanced up as Professor Perkins stopped behind her.

"Miss Potter, your schedules," he said. "I think I will need to add Miss Goyle to your services, seeing as how you didn't do as well as I expected Miss Goyle."

"I'm sorry professor," Darla said sweetly. "I will strive to do better. It was just womanly problem, you know?"

"Ah, well hopefully those problems will not keep you from classes," Professor Perkins said handing the schedule to Darla. He flipped through and pulled out two more schedules. "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. West, remember this year is your O.W.L.s and I know you will do your very best."

"Yes sir," they said as they looked at their schedules.

"What electives are you taking?" Darla asked as she leaned across Scorpius, placing her hand on his thigh purposefully.

"Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," Lily said ignoring Darla's attempt to get a rise out of her.

"I'm surprised you didn't take Muggle Studies," Darla said with a cruel twist to her face. Lily laughed as she stood suddenly.

"You must forget," Lily said with a slight tone of sarcasm. "I am the anti-Slytherin. I'm practically raised like a muggle when I'm not here. See you in potions, Darla."

Lily could feel his eyes on her as she walked out of the Great Hall and it took all of her being to keep from sprinting out of there at a record speed. She stopped at the Gryffindor table, momentarily sitting to have her brothers take a look at her schedule.

"I was thinking," Lily said as she sat there, her back to the table as she stared at the back of Scorpius. "I think I am going to try out for the Slytherin team. I just want your thoughts on it, James."

"Well…" James trailed off as he thought about it. "I think you'd do very well, from the standpoint of playing and as your brother, I encourage you to do it. As your opponent, I have to say that when we are out on that pitch, we are no longer brother and sister, just rivals."

"Good to know you won't go easy on me," Lily laughed as she took back her schedule.

"What position?" James asked as he offered her a piece of bacon.

"I was thinking beater," Lily said. James nearly choked on his bacon.

"Look, Lily, beaters are these big bruits. You are just this tiny waif of a girl," he said. "Maybe you'd be better suited as a chaser like me, or even a keeper. Something that doesn't involve swinging a huge bat like a caveman and trying to knock a ball at people."

"I think I'd be good," Lily said pouting.

"I don't doubt that," James said. "I just think speed is your game, even with those guns of yours." He squeezed her upper arm.

"Hey, don't squeeze my arm," Lily laughed.

"Us playing over the summer is different than playing competitively," James said seriously. "You know I'll support you whatever you decide to do, but I want you to be safe. Chaser with good beater support or keeper is more of an ideal situation for you, sis."

"I'll keep that in mind, _bro_," Lily laughed at him. She stood. "Plus, you wouldn't be James if you took it easy on me."

"You make me out to being some evil big brother," James laughed as he waved her off. Lily left the Great Hall feeling happier having pretty much received James' blessing to try out for the Slytherin team. She headed back to the common room to gather the books she'd need for her first classes, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures.

"Alright, Slytherins," Malvo Flint said as he entered the Quidditch pitch. He carried a clipboard as he paced back and forth in front of the large group of people. He checked names as he made eye contact with the players hoping to grab one of the coveted six spots on the team, Malvo was a beater. Malvo looked at Lily frowning. "How old are you?"

"I'm a third year," Lily said.

"Kind of runty, aren't you?" He asked.

"Possibly," Lily replied. He laughed and continued walking, marking on his clipboard. She glanced reflexively at Scorpius and Damon, both who were standing down from her. Scorpius was blank faced, hard to read. Damon grinned and gave her a thumb up. Lily grinned back at him and looked straight forward.

"Alright, let see what you have. West, beater, Malfoy, chaser, E. Goyle, chaser, D. Goyle, chaser, Potter, seeker, Bridges, keeper," Flint said. "Team up with me. Russo, keeper, Haughton, seeker, Wilson, Lacy, and O'Neil as chasers, and your two, whatever your names are, beaters. Alright, let's hit the skies."

Lily took to the skies fairly quick, using one of the school's newer brooms. She tied her hair back and started circling as Professor Wood released the balls to go into play. She flew higher than Haughton, a sixth year boy with a mean look about him. He sneered at her, thinking her foolish for being so high up. To Lily it just made more sense. She could see everything from up there, the wind whipping at her as she circled. She focused on her aspect, looking for the snitch, and ignored the others.

She made best of the situation, trying not to be disappointed that she couldn't be a beater. She was certain that she could have done a wonderful job as one, even if beaters did tend to be a bit thicker muscled than she. She could see the appeal to her being a seeker. She was small therefore had very small surface resistance when she flew. She hovered high above her teams' goal, her eyes scanning for the slightest glint of gold. She groaned aloud, seeing the Snitch behind the opposite goal and with Haughton halfway between her and it.

Lily knew she had to make a decision, to circle toward it and hope that Haughton didn't catch on or to fly full speed through the middle of game play. Lily could feel her heart racing as she made a snap decision and took off from her place above her side's goal and wove in and out of the other players, barely avoiding collision, with Haughton and Scorpius both. She brushed so closely to colliding with Scorpius; she could smell the scent of grass on him from where Malvo miss timed a bludger hit towards Malfoy and knocked him to the ground.

Lily caught the snitch, Haughton screaming foul. Professor Wood sided with Lily on the score but then berated Lily for her daredevil flying. He reminded Lily that she could have hurt herself or one of the other players flying like that. Malvo called the tryout over and sent everyone off to the locker room. Darla skipped along merrily, not having even broken a sweat.

"Did you see my baby get hit? I swear that Flint was trying to knock him off his broom," Darla said as she headed in to the shower. Lily rolled her eyes and headed into another stall. "Did you see it, Lily?"

"Mhmm," Lily replied as she flipped the hot water on and climbed under the spray. If she and Darla both made the team, she'd hated to think how much she'd have to hear Darla go on and on about Scorpius. She rested her head against the cool tile while the hot water poured over her. She closed her eyes.

_ Lily had been thoroughly crushed when Darla told Lily that she was dating Scorpius, which Lucius Malfoy had them betrothed in the age old tradition of ancient magical families of the Slytherin house. At first Lily hoped it was only a mistake. She had never heard of such absurdities, but upon researching it more in the library, she learned that it was an old custom not routinely spoke of outside Slytherin circles. Lily had been heartbroken. Scorpius' excuse that she was too young was a lie. He was going to marry Darla Goyle and have a bunch of babies with that pigheaded girl._

_Lily had the summer to think about it, and the more she thought about it, the more it hurt. If he had been honest with her, upfront from the beginning, she wouldn't have let herself fall for him. Second year was spent pointedly avoiding him like the plague. Her only solace was Asher, the one she told all her secrets to. When Christmas came, she refused the gift Scorpius sent her and avoided him at the Slytherin Ball, not that it was hard, the way that Darla was hanging over him all night. Still, he stole away and found her alone. He tried talking to her and she ran away, to her parents and begged to go home._

_"I just don't feel well," Lily lied when her parents asked her why she wanted to go home early. She and Scorpius made eye contact and he moved forward, toward her as she pulled her cloak on but Darla intercepted him and Lily felt like someone had just impaled her with an icicle, a nice thick, sharp barbed one, and decided to twist it. She went straight to bed that night and cried silently into Asher's warm fur._

Lily finished up and redressed in her school uniform. If she, Darla, and Scorpius were on the same team, she would deal with it. She decided that she wouldn't run from the situation anymore. This was, after all, how things were going to be until the end of time. She would just have to focus on the letters between Taryn and herself and ignore the feelings that she had for Scorpius. She'd bury them deep inside, like she buried everything else. She wouldn't run from him anymore.


	8. Quidditch and Potions

**AN:** Thanks for the reviews and that no one took issue to skipping ahead a bit. This chapter is shorter, just seven pages. I am glad that so many people seem to really like this story as much as I do. I'll keep it up if you do, too! Thanks for reading. I am glad that no one had a hard time keeping up with the year and a half skip and that everyone kept up. I think I did a decent job making it clear and smooth, the transition was ease. I am surprised, myself, how far I am already in this story and didn't want to over load with too many releases, but here's the next chapter (even though I just released chapter seven yesterday). Enjoy. Read. Review.

**Disc.:** I owe so much to so many.

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Quidditch and Potions

"Can you believe I didn't make the cut?" Darla shrieked as she slammed the door to the third year girls' common room. Lily didn't make a sound, hoping to avoid Darla on her little tirade. Darla jerked back the curtains around the bed and jerked back the covers to the bed. Lily groaned in protest.

"Darla, it's Sunday," Lily protested.

"Can you believe that git Flint decided to go another way with the whole team?" Darla asked jabbing Lily with her finger.

"So he's decided?" Lily asked.

"No, he's having second trials this afternoon, then by next Saturday everyone has practice," Darla said rolling her eyes. "Guess it's good for me, doesn't keep me from Hogsmead."

"Mhmm," Lily yawned. "Have you seen Asher?"

"Yeah, he's off in the common room being disgusting," Darla said making a face. "He's caught himself a mouse and is playing with it, the poor disgusting thing. Anyways, aren't you a bit curious to know how you did?"

"Not really," Lily lied as she tried to cover her head with the pillow. Darla snatched it away from her.

"Lucky witch, you made the call backs," Darla said. "Stupid Quidditch."

"I did?" Lily said bounding out of her bed. She ran out of her dormitory, still in her pajamas, her socks slipping on the stone. She nearly took down three people as she tried to regain her footing in front of the message board. She failed, taking down Scorpius and two sixth years that were reading the list.

"Honestly, Lily," Scorpius laughed as he pulled her arms from around his neck. She turned bright red. "If you wanted a hug, I would have been more than thrilled to comply."

"I wasn't hugging you," Lily said as she stood back up. "I was coming out here to see if I had really been put on the call back list."

"You have," Scorpius said grinning at her. Lily felt her stomach knot slightly and she turned to the list for proof. Right under _Malfoy, Scorpius_ was _Potter, Lily _all in Malvo Flint's chicken scratch writing. She laughed, cheering, and was tempted to actually embrace Scorpius. He must have sensed it because he seemed to have prepared for it. Lily surprised them both by hugging the sixth year before running back to her dormitory to get dressed. She wasn't on the team yet, but this was closer.

Dressed, she bolted down to the Great Hall. Instead of sitting at Slytherin, she forced her way into the middle of her cousins and brothers. They seemed a bit surprised that Lily had joined them but happy none the less. Lily ate breakfast with them, telling them that she had made it to the second round of tryouts.

"Hey, that's really great," James said laughing at her excitement. She squeezed him tightly.

"I owe it to you," Lily said releasing him. James blushed slightly.

"How so?" James asked. Lily grinned.

"You never went easy on me this summer," Lily said. James laughed as he nodded. He had been a pretty rough Quidditch player against her when they'd all go to Grandmother Weasley's. He'd pit himself against her each time they'd play with all the cousins and the adults, and never once did he go easy on her. More than once he had made her bleed or sent her careening to the ground. Some had thought he was being too rough on her, but Lily had asked him to treat her like the enemy. She knew that she'd need to toughen up if she wanted to make it on the Quidditch team.

Lily stood on the field that afternoon with broom in hand as Flint assigned them different positions. He looked at her and smirked, looking at the positions on his roster before him. Lily stood there, unflinching in her Quidditch robes, which were the smallest spares they had on hand and yet were still too large.

"Potter, suit up for beater," he said. Lily nodded and immediately began pulling on the wrist guards and shin guards. They were a bit too loose, but they'd make due. Lily was playing opposite Flint and Malfoy, with a few Slytherins she had seen around the common room and at the tables. At Professor Wood's whistle, the teams took to the air. Lily held her bat in her left hand, her dominant hand and felt a surge of excitement as the bludger was hit her way. The sound of bludger to bat was an intense, echoing crack and Lily had great control, sending it at Malfoy who had the Quaffle in his hand. His team mates weren't able to get there to defend him and Malfoy dropped the Quaffle to dodge the bludger, just to be picked up by Lily's team.

She learned really quickly that they were all out to test her, to prove that a child her size couldn't be an effective beater. She was sweating heavily, thirsty, but her speed outmatched the other side's beaters, and Lily was able to defend her chasers and nearly annihilate the other sides' players in the process. She pressed through the ache in her arm from launching the bludger away from her chasers and back at the other team's chaser. She never felt more relief than when the snitch was caught. Her team had lost, but it wasn't for a lack of giving it their all. Still, as Lily landed, she couldn't help but be disappointed. She wanted to win.

"Good game, good game," Malvo said as he looked over the rosters. He glanced at them. "This hasn't been an easy decision, certainly, and I know we all ultimately want what's best for Slytherin. So, I've made the choices that I believe will be best for our house. I will post the team roster by tonight. All right men, hit the showers."

Lily felt the over whelming feeling of dread. She hadn't been chosen. She sat on the bench in the locker room, listening to the guys being loud as they stripped off their gear and left it lying in the loaner bins. Lily removed the guards, one piece at a time. She looked up across to the other side where Scorpius was sitting, removing his own gear. He looked up at her, expressionless. Lily looked away and stood to drop her gear and head for the girls' showers.

"Potter," Flint said loudly. "I want to see you outside now."

"Ok," Lily said as she glanced uncertainly at Scorpius. He looked away quickly and Lily followed the giant seventh year outside of the Slytherin locker room. She shielded her eyes as she looked up at him.

"You need work, kid," he said quickly as he set the clip board down on a bench. "You're wicked fast and you hit like it hurts. I remember you knocked out those two players in your first year. Your aim is good, and you definitely have some power behind you. Your size, though, could be seen as a disadvantage. So, I need you to tell me why you'd be the best choice for beater on our team."

"Well, I may be small," Lily said after thinking a moment. "But being small means that I am more likely over looked and more likely taken for granted by the other team, you know, not seen as a threat. It also means I can fly faster, even with the bat, because of less surface resistance. Also, I have a hunger to prove that just because I am a Potter, I'm a cutthroat Slytherin beater. I embody all that is Slytherin."

"And should it come to it, could you take out your brother or cousin? Would you hesitate to hurt them to win?" Flint asked. Lily looked at him.

"I'm no one's family when I am on that pitch," Lily said without batting an eye. Malvo Flint grinned.

"I think you need to head to Hogsmead next weekend and get professionally fitted for beater gear," he said. "It'll just go on the Slytherin House Tab. Is that your broom or the schools?"

"The schools," Lily said.

"I'll owl ahead to make sure that you are fitted for a speedy little number," Malvo said. "The perks of being a Slytherin abound."

"So… I made the team?" Lily asked. Flint nodded.

"Welcome beater number two to the Slytherin Quidditch team," he said extending his hand. Lily shook it, ignoring the intensity of his grip.

"Thank you, Flint, for giving me a chance," Lily said. He nodded.

"Now, don't get all girly on me, Potter, and don't make me move you to seeker," he said. "I hate being made out wrong."

Lily headed back into the locker room grabbed her stuff and skipped off to the showers, a giant grin on her face. She fought the urge to sing and hum in the shower. Instead she soaped up, rinsed down and redressed in her school uniform. She exited the showers area, back in the main locker area to see Scorpius standing there. He was leaning against a set of lockers, his arms crossed. Lily hesitated, looking at him with his still wet hair and that smirk on his face that he always had. She bit her lip slightly and turned to her locker, pulling out her bag.

"Congrats on making the team," he said as she slammed her locker and walked towards the exit doors. She looked at him.

"Thank you," she said as she went to continue out the doors.

"Are you going to stay mad at me forever? Even though I don't know what I did?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him.

"I'm not mad at you," she said. "Just disappointed in you, that's all. I'm disappointed." Lily exited the locker room without another word. She heard the door shut behind her and knew that Scorpius was following her.

"Lily, wait up," he called.

"Baby! There you are!" Darla called out shrilly over the grounds, heading straight past Lily. Lily didn't turn around. She didn't care to see Darla's greeting. Instead she went straight inside, determined to find her brothers. She found them reluctantly hanging out in the library. Rose had turned into her mother when it came to her and James studying for the O.W.L.s.

"I made the Slytherin team," Lily said as she slipped into one of the free chairs. James looked up, grinning.

"Chaser like your big brother? Like Mum? Or a seeker like Dad?" James asked thrilled to have a legitimate reason to ignore Rose's studying.

"Neither, I'm a beater," Lily said grinning. James laughed, thinking it was a joke, but stopped when he saw that she was serious.

"Merlin, Lily," James said. "That's a dangerous position."

"It's no more dangerous than any other position," Lily said. "And I hit hard."

"I don't doubt that, but promise me you'll be safe," James said. Lily rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll be as safe as can be," Lily said. "I'm going for gear fitting on Saturday in Hogsmead. The standard gear is too big."

"Our diminutive sister," Albus mumbled as he flipped a page. He looked up to see his siblings and cousins looking at him.

"I didn't know you knew any big words," Rose said in quiet awe.

"When did you learn smartness?" Hugo teased.

"Very funny," Lily said sticking her tongue out at Albus. She paused. "Hey, do you think I can borrow the map?"

"Sorry, Lily, no," Albus said shaking his head. "It's official Gryffindor property."

"C'mon," Lily said. "I need it."

"It's not going to happen," Albus said. "I can't. I have a duty to uphold as a New Marauder to keep it out of Slytherin hands, even if those hands are those of my baby sister."

"You're a wanker, you know?" Lily said frowning. James looked up at her, shock on his face.

"You're not supposed to use that kind of language," James said. Lily laughed.

"A word is just a bunch of letters until someone gives it meaning," Lily said. She looked at her watch and groaned. "I'm supposed to go help Darla and Kate with potions."

"Have fun," the rest called as they waved her off. Lily headed to the dungeon class room and waited, sitting on the counter closest to the small barred windows. Professor Perkins nodded at her once as he headed through to his office. Lily had a list of things that Darla and Kate needed help with and she pulled out the supplies, readied them on the table.

"Hey Lily," Scorpius said as he saw her lighting a fire under one of the cauldrons she had drug out for the tutoring lesson.

"Hey," Lily said in almost a grunt unbefitting a lady of Slytherin. She didn't care and turned back to her work. She heard him move to the interior of the room.

"Flint wants me to take you down to the Quidditch shop on Saturday to make sure that you get the right fit," Scorpius said. Lily looked up, surprised he had moved so close. He was maybe a foot away. She could smell his smell, a hint of grass and dirt among the soap and aftershave. She breathed in a trembling breath, slightly confused about the feelings that were swirling inside her. She knew what she wanted, she thought. She liked Taryn, but she couldn't deny it. She loved Scorpius.

"Oh, okay," Lily said finally after what seemed like the longest delay in the world. The words came out a bit constrained and Scorpius smiled, nodding.

"Good then, it's a date," Scorpius said. Lily looked up at him surprised, raising an eyebrow. "Well, not a date, you know. Not a date-date. It's just uh… two of us doing something for Quidditch."

"Okay," Lily said as the door opened to both the classroom and Professor Perkins office. Lily glanced up to see Darla practically jump on Scorpius, her mouth all over his face. Kate and Lily both made a face, disgusted by the display.

"Mr. Malfoy, shall we leave these three to their work?" Professor Perkins suggested. Scorpius looked relieved to be able to release Darla and run like the dickens out of the hot little classroom.

The three spent the better part of an hour properly cutting up roots for a simple potion. Kate and Lily were silent while Darla went on and on about how far she had already gotten with Scorpius and her plan and timetable for future actions.

"I can't believe Mr. Malfoy chose me," Darla said. Lily looked up, surprised.

"C-chose you?" Lily asked hesitantly. Darla nodded and then a look of understand and realization.

"Of course you wouldn't know the whole thing," Darla said. "Your family isn't Slytherin. The way it works is our grandfathers are responsible for choosing our spouses. Mr. Malfoy opted to choose me over my sister. I was thrilled because I was certain with Elena being the same age as Scorpius, she'd be picked, but he said that he had big plans for Scorpius and that I would be the ideal woman by his side."

"That's… kind of sad," Lily said suddenly. "To be forced to marry someone out of tradition and not love."

"It's not sad. I do love him," Darla said frowning. "And I know he will too."

"Mhmm," Lily murmured. "Well, it's nearly dinner time, let's wrap this up. What's the next step?"

"Add the Dandelion Root?" Kate asked. Lily nodded. She knocked her knife to the ground.

"Just a bit," Lily said. She turned to pick up the knife as Darla added all of the dandelion roots. The potion turned bright pink, like bubble gum, and exploded. The three girls stood there in shock, covered in pink goo as Professor Perkins walked in. He looked at them, laughter in his eyes.

"Too much dandelion root," he said simply. He pulled out his wand and siphoned off the pink goo and refilled the cauldron. "Perhaps an intelligence booster potion might be of some help, ladies."

Lily was still a bit sticky feeling when she and the others headed to the Great Hall for dinner. Lily was hungry but found her stomach twisted in knots when she saw Scorpius laughing with Damon. She let him make eye contact as she took a seat a ways down from him. Darla practically sat on his lap. Scorpius easily pushed her aside, without as much as a hurtful word or action.

"It was the funniest thing," Damon said laughing. Darla perked up.

"What was?" Darla asked.

"Professor Perkins had us identify some very difficult potions," Scorpius said quickly. Darla looked at him quizzically.

"I don't see how that is funny," Darla said as she looked to Lily. Lily shrugged and continued eating her food.

"No, that wasn't the funny part," Damon said. "What was funny was Scorpius' reaction to one of the potions."

"Yeah?" Lily piped up. "What was his reaction?"

"We were asked to describe what we smelled when we sniffed it," Damon said. "Scorpius almost got all trance like and was going on how it smelled like fresh cut grass, honey-suckle, cherry, cotton blossoms, and clean linen."

"Yeah?" Lily said looking at Scorpius. "What potion was it?" Scorpius blushed, his cheeks turning bright red.

"Amortentia, the most powerful love potion allowed by the ministry," Damon said. "Highly potent and highly regulated. I'm just curious who smells like that?"

"Ugh, not me," Darla said. "I'd never let myself smell like stinky old grass."

Lily bit her lip and looked away. She could taste her cherry lip balm; grass still clung to her shoes from earlier. Her shampoo was honey-suckle and cotton blossoms scented. Her clothes always smelled clean, like freshly washed linens. She blushed hard ducking down to pick up her fork she purposely knocked to the ground. It confused her. He was with Darla, but his love potion-smell… _it was her_. She wondered what that meant, but knew she couldn't ask. What would it benefit her to know he loved her yet remained with Darla?

Lily couldn't sleep that night, the thoughts of the week previous taunting her. She was too worked up, excited about making the team, confused about Scorpius, envious of Darla, and generally worked up in many ways. She knew she had an early class but she just couldn't will herself to sleep. Instead of tossing and turning, she pulled her robe on over her tee shirt and shorts, slipped her feet sockless into her tennis shoes, and headed out of the dormitory, walking silently. She knew it had to be close to eleven, even though the room was void of people.

She knew she'd get in trouble if she was caught out of bed, and she doubted that she could pull off a claim of sleepwalking like her dad had once pulled, but she risked it anyways, knowing that she just needed to be vigilant. She crept silently out the portrait hole and along the corridors with an ear out for anyone that could come along. She held the letter she had penned earlier in the day to Taryn and headed towards the Owlery. She knew he'd be excited about her making the team.

Lily climbed the stairs silently, listening for sounds that anyone else had heard her ascend the stairs. She found one of the school owls, the beast not too keen on being used for post at the moment but took the letter anyways and flew out into the night. Lily looked around, not surprised to find that most of the owls were gone. They were naturally nocturnal. Lily headed down the stairs, pausing when she swore she heard a sound. Heart pounding, she pushed herself into the shadows and waited. The sound passed and Lily waited a moment more before she headed back towards the Slytherin common room.

Three times, Lily had to hide in the shadows or behind a suit of armor to avoid being seen by the prefects that were patrolling and taking points. Lily barely hid in time to keep from being seen by James and Rose, who were luckily deep in discussion. Lily couldn't hear what they were whispering about, but for a moment she felt lonely. She had friends in her fellow Slytherins, but she missed out on that closeness that Rose and James had, even that Hugo and Albus shared. She felt momentarily cheated. The pair turned the corner and Lily slipped out from her hiding place and headed down the corridor, nearly back at the Slytherin portrait hole.

Lily could hear someone coming behind her and her stomach clenched as she realized that the Snotty Woman was not in her frame. Lily began to panic, trying to pull the frame open with her bare hands. She glanced towards the way the sounds were coming, shadows appearing around the corner. Lily darted from the entrance at the last possible moment and slipped behind a statue of Salazar Slytherin. She crouched down to be covered by the base.

"That cow's not in her portrait again," Celeste said angrily. "And I'm tired as all get out."

"That's why they installed the prefect releases," Scorpius said quietly as a clicking sound echoed down the seemingly empty hall way. The portrait creaked open and Lily held her breath.

"Are you coming?" Celeste asked.

"Yeah, be right there," Scorpius said. Lily shrunk down a bit as she heard footsteps coming closer. She held her breath but still nearly screamed as a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Oh, hello Scorpius," Lily said quietly as she looked up at him, forcing a smile. "Lovely night for a stroll."

"You're out of bed after hours," he said sternly. Lily stood and faced him.

"Just walking of the excitement of the day," Lily said truthfully. "How'd you know I was out of bed and hiding here?"

"I, er, just did," Scorpius said. She saw him turn a bit pink.

"You're blushing," Lily accused laughing.

"No I'm not," Scorpius said shaking his head.

"Uh-huh, yeah," Lily laughed. "Anyways, fine, live in denial. So, do I get points off or something for being out of bed after lights out?"

"I could give you a punishment," Scorpius said. Lily grinned and stepped toward him.

"But you aren't, are you?" Lily asked. She knew she was treading on thin ice, being a bit too forward. He laughed.

"No," Scorpius admitted. "I'm not going to."

"Good," she said grinning.

"Are you still mad at me?" Scorpius asked.

"No," Lily said. She looked away.

"It's Darla, isn't it?" He asked. Lily looked at him frowning.

"You told me that I was too young and Darla's not that much older than me," Lily challenged.

"You don't understand," Scorpius said, "This is how it works for Slytherins. Your grandparents pair you up. To ensure strong lineage, my grandfather was required to select my future spouse. I don't have a say in the matter. Do you think I would really choose Darla over you?"

"No one seems to think I am a 'real' Slytherin, so it wouldn't surprise me," Lily said simply.

"Get over your lineage being Gryffindor, Lily," Scorpius said rolling his eyes. "You're a Slytherin, through and true. I would have chosen you. I would have, but it wasn't my choice to make. While my grandfather is alive, he will continue to hold me to this arrangement. He won't let me make the 'mistake' he says my father made."  
"Fine," Lily said turning away from him fighting the sudden feeling of tears. Scorpius grabbed her arm, making her look at him.

"Lils, please, you have to understand," Scorpius said. He bit his lip slightly, his hands shook. "I begged him. I begged my grandmother to talk to him. Lucius Malfoy is not an easily swayed man. It's just how it is. My father only dodged it because his grandfather died before he could force them down the aisle. I would give up everything if it wasn't Darla, Lils. I would. I don't care for her like I care for you."

"I… you…" Lily said. They looked away from each other.

"I know," Scorpius said frowning. "I know that we can't be anything more than friends, but Lily, if there was any way that you and I could be more, I'd jump on it faster than you could say 'Bethesda Boggles Black Beanies'. You know that, right?"

"I figured as much," Lily said. "But being friends is it for us."

"I never meant to hurt you," Scorpius said. "I did think that eleven was too young, still do. Thirteen, not so much, but we're where we're supposed to be."

"Well," Lily said after a moment of silence. "I guess I'll head back inside and off to bed. Think you could open the portrait?"

"Sure," Scorpius said as the two of them headed to the empty portrait. Without meaning to, he pulled her to him, her face against his chest while he released the latch. "Sorry, just couldn't have you peeking."

"Mhmm," Lily said as her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she walked to her dormitory, her stomach in knots. She knew if anyone asked what she smelled when she sniffed the Amortentia, she'd answer without skipping a beat. She'd only be able to describe it as one person: _Scorpius Malfoy_.


	9. Her Boyfriend

A/N: Readers you are awesome! Thanks for reading and review. You know I love to get the reviews, so keep up the good work on your end and I'll keep the good work on mine.

Disc.: Only borrowing the main characters for my own devices.

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Her Boyfriend

Flint had spent the better part of an hour barking commands at his players. Hot, sweaty, and filthy, he called them down to the ground. He looked a bit displeased at Damon's laughing manner about dropping the Quaffle and reminded him that there was no room for errors like that in a game. Damon became quiet as Flint went through the schedule for training and the match schedule.

"I want to hammer something home to you," Flint said as he took Lily's beater bat from her. "I want to give you a practical example of why you should avoid the bludgers at all cost, even if our beaters are supposed to be there to protect. You must be vigilant." He held six large muggle softballs in his hand. One by one, he hit each of them with a hard hit ball. Only Lily stepped out of the path of the softball at the last minute.

"That hurt," Damon complained as he rubbed his stomach where his ball hit. Scorpius nodded, his shoulder throbbing and bruising under his practice robes.

"That is a tenth the size of a bludger and much softer," Flint said. He turned to Lily. "Why did you dodge the ball?"

"Because I'm not stupid enough to let you hit me with a ball," Lily said.

"Exactly," Flint said. He flashed a smile at Lily before looking at the rest of them. "I would have been more impressed if the five of you had the same sense that our little third year had and stepped out of the path of the ball. The idea isn't to get hit and keep on going, the idea is to not get hit in the first place."

"Now he tells us," Scorpius commented to Damon. Flint glared at him.

"So, hit the showers, enjoy what's left of the Hogsmead trip, and be prepared for our Gryffindor game next week," Flint said dismissing them. "Lily, don't forget to hit the shop for gear."

"Will do, captain," Lily said saluting him with a smile on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her and he allowed himself to grin back at her. Lily headed off to the locker room, tossing her oversized gear in the bin for the last time. She showered quickly and performed a decent enough drying spell on her hair as she stepped out in to the main part of the locker room. She glanced up as she saw Scorpius standing there, waiting patiently.

"Almost ready?" he asked quietly as Lily sat down, pulling her socks on her feet. She smiled at him before focusing on tying her shoes.

"Nearly ready," she said jumping up. "I just want to put my belt on." He watched as she pulled a pink belt and began looping it through the loops on her jeans. She pulled her shirt into place and turned to him, slamming her locker door.

"I don't think I've seen you in regular clothes since that year before you started Hogwarts," Scorpius told her.

"I normally wear the uniform or my pajamas," Lily said. "It cuts down on laundry to have to do when I go home during Christmas."

"You do your own laundry?" Scorpius asked as he held the door open for her.

"Yes," she said. "I have since I was eight. We don't have house elves."

"Wow, really," Scorpius said.

"Mhmm," Lily murmured as the two of them made the walk towards Hogsmead. The two walked in silence, occasionally Lily would steal a look at Scorpius as they walked along the sunny path. She hated that her heart would race when he'd catch her and smile.

Once they were in town, they headed straight to the Quidditch shop, the small man in there looking up as the bell rang. Lily greeted him with a smile and he seemed to have expected them. He set to work his measuring instruments, ordering Lily out of her clothes. Scorpius blushed hard and Lily laughed him off.

"I'm wearing basic Quidditch garments," Lily told him as she whipped off her jeans and tee shirt. He dared a look. Sure enough she was wearing the basic top and bottom, snug and form fitting to help from restriction and sweat build up.

"Quality," the shop keep said as the measuring instruments went to work measuring Lily. The shop keeper nodded at the measurement tools. "You're a tiny thing. Beater, I think Flint said. Surprising, but Flint knows his Quidditch, and you do come from strong Quidditch lineage, even if it is Gryffindor."

"Nearly done there?" Scorpius said defensively. "Her lineage is nothing to mock. She's a damn good player, old man, and you'd be best to remember that."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Malfoy," the shop keeper said immediately. "My apologies, dear girl. This old man doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."

"It's ok," Lily said. The man worked silently pulling boxes and having Lily try the gear on.

"Dear, you are petite," he said in a quiet voice as he struggled to get the straps tight. "I think this is it, though, a wonderful fit. Have you hit puberty yet?"

"Uh," Lily said blushing. Scorpius quickly began examining a tube of performance ointment.

"I'd take that as a no, then," he said not even being quiet. "Don't worry. Your frame doesn't look like it'd get that much bigger, even when you hit that special time."

"I _have_," Lily hissed at the man, her face on fire.

"None the less, the Velcro straps will allow for you to adjust up if you need," he said as he piled the purchases in the bag. "Go ahead and get dressed and I'll get this all bagged up and get your broom."

"Mind handing me my jeans?" Lily asked Scorpius as she pulled on her tee shirt. Scorpius handed Lily her jeans and she slipped them on over her Under Quidditch gear.

"Smart of you to remember to wear that," Scorpius said.

"Disappointed much, Score?" Lily teased. Scorpius coughed as his faced turned a bit pink and he turned his head.

"No," he lied as he busied himself with Lily's stuff. "I'll carry the broom and you get your bag."

"Good day, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Potter," the shop keeper said ushering them out of the store.

"How about a drink, my treat for you being so nice to take me to the Quidditch shop and wasting a good bit of the time we have here when you could be off with Darla," Lily offered.

"The Three Broomsticks?" Scorpius suggested.

"Lily Potter!" a voice called from behind them. Lily and Scorpius turned around to look, as did a few other curious people. Lily shrieked excitedly and ran at the guy who had called her name.

"TARYN!" Lily squealed as she jumped into his arms practically. He hugged her, spinning her and planting a kiss on her mouth. "What are you doing here?"

"I got your letter," he said. "My cousin apparated us here for the day. You are one heck of a girl to track down."

"I had to do some shopping," Lily said shaking the bag slightly.

"What'd my girl buy?" He asked playfully. Lily held the bag open so he could peek inside. "Quidditch, huh? So it's true then? You're really a beater?"

"Yeah, and she's damn good one, too," Scorpius said standing near them, still holding Lily's broom.

"Taryn, this is my housemate, Scorpius. Scorpius, this is my boyfriend, Taryn," Lily introduced.

"The boy from the picture," Scorpius said simply. Lily nodded.

"Taryn, we were just going to the Three Broomsticks for a round of butter beer. You must come. I want to show you off," Lily laughed. He slipped his arm around Lily's waist.

"I can't deny you, can I?" Taryn said. He looked directly at Scorpius and smirked. "She is, after all, the best girl a guy could ever hope to get."

Lily, Taryn, and Scorpius sat at a table while they waited for their drinks. Lily was conveniently oblivious to the death looks and glares that the boys were tossing back and forth at each other. After the drinks arrived, Taryn started talking about his own Quidditch career at Durmstrang. Lily smirked but listened.

"I guess when Lily and I are married and have kids, it'd be fair to say that our sons will be beaters, as well," Taryn said casually.

"You're betrothed?" Scorpius asked suddenly.

"No," Lily replied quickly.

"Technically, no," Taryn admitted. "I want to wait until my last year at Durmstrang to ask her father officially, though I do think that I might broach the subject with Mr. Potter this Christmas. I know she's a bit young, but I can't let this one slip through my finger."

"Taryn, please," Lily said blushing as he kissed her neck. She stood. "I'll be right back, guys."

"Don't take too long," Taryn told her grinning as he watched her walk away. Lily nodded and glanced back at the two of them giving each other dirty looks. Confused, she shrugged and headed into the bathroom. She was gone maybe ten minutes but she might as well as been gone an eternity. Taryn and Scorpius looked as if they had been arguing.

"Is something wrong?" Lily asked nervously as she sat down next to Taryn.

"No, of course not, sweetie," Taryn said. "Just a little friendly banter between two Quidditch players."

"Oh," Lily said. She looked to Scorpius for confirmation.

"I'm going to find Darla," Scorpius said sliding out of the booth that they were sharing.

"Be a sport and take Lily's bags," Taryn said pushing the bags toward Scorpius.

"Really, you don't need to," Lily said. She turned to Taryn. "Taryn, he doesn't need to."

"It's ok, Lils," Scorpius said as he took the bag. "I'll catch you back at the castle."

Lily waited until he was gone before turning to Taryn with confusion and questions in her eyes. He smiled at her, melting her uncertainty and took her by the hand, leading her out of the Three Broomsticks and down Main Street. Lily allowed herself to be lead toward the shrieking shack, Taryn's hand holding tight to Lily's. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her lightly.

"What's wrong?" Taryn asked as Lily pulled away.

"Nothing," Lily said. "I just told you that I want to take things slow, you know. I've not even had my first real kiss."

"I can change that," Taryn offered. "These light pecks on the cheek and lips are kind of childish."

"I don't know I'm ready for that, Taryn," Lily said blushing. Taryn made a face but nodded.

"Of course, yes," Taryn said. "I'm sorry if it felt I was pushing you."

"No, no," Lily assured him. She wrapped her arms around him. "I love having you as my boyfriend. You're the perfect boyfriend."

"I am, aren't I?" Taryn said laughing. His face turned serious. "Look, Lily. I don't want to say anything but I'm worried about your friend ship with that boy earlier. He worries me."

"Scorpius?" Lily asked uncertainly. "He and I are team mates, house mates, you know? We're just friends."

"I know that's how you see him, but I think his thoughts are less sweet and pure for you," Taryn said seriously. "I'd hate for him to do something horrible to you and you not to be aware that guys like him are only out for one thing. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"We are just friend, Taryn," Lily protested.

"Still, I'd feel better if you weren't alone with him, you know?" Taryn said solemnly. "I love you and I'd hate for him to hurt you."

"Scorpius isn't like that, Tare," Lily promised. "He has a betrothed bride. He takes that very seriously and our families practically hate each other. You have nothing to worry about."

"Of course," Taryn said kissing her forehead. "I'm probably over reacting."

"Over reacting?" Lily asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, he… no, I'm sure it was nothing," Taryn said laughing. "You know, how guys can be. You have brothers. I'm sure he didn't mean for it to sound like that."

"Like what?" Lily pressed. Taryn shrugged.

"Nothing, only see, I was polite to our waitress and he took it as coming on to her," Taryn said shrugging. "She gave me her number and I was polite, told her I had a girl friend, but she relented. I threw it away when she left the table but your friend told me that he planned to sabotage our relationship because he wanted us to fail so that I wouldn't spend Christmas with you and your family."

"Scorpius said that?" Lily said uncertainly.

"I wasn't going to mention it," Taryn said sadly, shaking his head. "I know he's your friend, but that kind of conversation really worried me. He seems like his the overly jealous type. I just don't want you to get hurt, sweetie."

"I don't know what to say," Lily murmured.

"Let's not think about that unpleasantness. I have to meet my brother back in a little bit," Taryn said wrapping his arms around Lily. "Let's head in closer to that old spooky house. I heard it is the most haunted building in the area."

"Ok," Lily said as she allowed herself be lead forward. Taryn held the barbed wire open so she could slip inside the fence before he followed.

"Have you ever been inside?" Taryn asked as he climbed the rickety old steps.

"No," Lily said shaking her head. "This is my first time seeing it at all, outside of pictures. It's so creepy."

"Let's go inside," Taryn said. Lily swallowed nervously and pushed forward into the rickety old house. It was covered in thick dust.

"It looks like someone's been here recently," Lily said pointing at the footprints in the dust.

"Probably curious like we are," Taryn assured her as they headed upstairs.

"I think we should go," Lily said as she glanced around nervously.

"C'mon on Lily," Taryn said taking her by the hand again and leading her up the stairs. Lily tried to resist a little, but followed reluctantly anyways. The two pushed into a bedroom, the place in shambles.

"I don't really want to be here," Lily said a little more forcibly. "I want to go."

"Oh, ok, yeah," Taryn said nodding. "Sorry, of course Lily. Let's go. This place is a bit creepy, I agree."

The two of them stood outside for a few minutes before heading back to the barbed wire fence. Lily climbed through the fence first, followed by Taryn. They walked in silence down the lane back to town. Lily thought about the fact that her parents and her grandparents probably walked down this lane countless times from the Shrieking Shack back to town. She was silent as they hit the edge of town.

"There's my brother," Taryn said pointing at the older boy. "I guess he's ready to go. Look, I'm sorry that this trip wasn't better. I just get so nervous around you."

"It's ok," Lily said. She hugged him tightly.

"I did get you something, though, I just wasn't sure when I wanted you to have it," Taryn said quietly. Lily looked at him curiously.

"Yeah?" Lily asked. Taryn nodded. He pulled off his tee shirt.

"I want you to have a piece of me," he said grinning. "Since you're not ready for your first real kiss, and you can't blame me for trying, I figure my favorite tee shirt would have to a big enough part of me to remember me by."

"I'm not going to forget you from now until Christmas," Lily laughed. "You're still coming aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Taryn said grinning. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her mouth quickly. "I wouldn't miss it for anything. Just don't forget about me."

"Never," Lily laughed as she pulled away from him. "See you at Christmas."

"Don't forget to write to me, Lily," Taryn said. "Every week."

"I will," Lily said.

"I love you, Lily," Taryn said. Lily kissed him quickly and walked away. She turned and waved to him. He waved back and apparated with his brother from Hogsmead. Lily headed back to the castle, her boyfriend's favorite tee shirt in her hand. She was half way down the lane when Shale and Kate caught up with her, the two of them laughing.

"We saw you with your boyfriend," Shale said.

"He's so cute!" Kate cooed. Lily laughed at the sour look on Shale's face. "I think you're cute, too, Shale. Especially since you grew taller over the summer."

"It is good to be taller than Lily," Shale teased.

"I still might get taller," Lily said. She laughed. "Though I doubt much more."

"At least you're proportionate," Kate said. "That girl in Ravenclaw is like normal sized in the body and have really long arms and really short legs. I bet she has a hard time shopping."

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?" Lily asked as she walked along with them.

"Yeah, go for it. What are best friends for?" Kate said. "What's up?"

"Do you think I should be afraid of Scorpius?" Lily asked. The two of them frowned.

"Why would you be?" Shale asked.

"Well, Taryn said that he was worried that Scorpius might hurt me," Lily said.

"Hurt you how?" Kate asked. "That boy is crazy about you."

"I think that's it," Lily said shrugging. "Taryn thinks that Scorpius has less than pure thoughts of me."

"What boy doesn't?" Shale said without thinking. He blushed, his face bright red.

"What exactly do you mean with that, Shale Zabini?" Kate demanded. She had her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Nothing, nothing. _I _don't have impure thoughts about Lily, but you have to admit that if Lily wasn't so innocent she'd pick up on the number of guys that are inherently interested in her," Shale said quickly. "That's all."

"I'm not so innocent," Lily protested.

"Yeah, you are," Kate admitted.

"No, no I'm not," Lily said.

"Ladies, ladies," Shale said playfully. "No need to argue about this. I mean, Lily can always just prove she's not innocent."

"Prove it how?" Lily asked.

"Surprise us," Shale said.

"No problem," Lily said. "I have generations of pranksters to back me up. I am sure I can think of something that will prove I am nothing close to innocent."

"We eagerly wait," they laughed.

* * *

Lily figured that Scorpius put her gear away in the Slytherin locker room, so she wasn't surprised to see it there when she walked into the change room that Monday afternoon for practice. She glanced at him standing there and wondered how much Taryn told her was true. She had known Scorpius since first year and she had never seen him fight anyone nor get into an argument. Sure, he and James had exchanged words a few times and bumped chests threatening a few times, but she didn't think she had anything to worry about. She pulled her practice robes on and strapped up her shin guards before going to work on her wrist guards.

"Need some help?" Scorpius asked quietly. Lily looked up and saw him standing over her. He sat on the bench across from her.

"Sure," Lily said as she extended her wrists to him.

"You want to make sure they are snug so that you don't get fatigued early on," Scorpius told her as he pulled them into place. "You'll learn how to effectively strap them on yourself, but until you do, make sure someone checks the tightness. We can't afford to have one of our beaters getting hurt."

"So sweet of you to be concerned," Lily said as Scorpius affixed the Velcro tightly.

"Of course, I'd be concerned about you, Lils," Scorpius said. "We're friends. That's why I want to talk to you about Taryn."

"He already told me what happened," Lily said quickly. "I can see where you'd misunderstand but he threw out the number that forward waitress gave him."

"Lily, I don't think you quite understand," Scorpius said. "He practically grabbed the waitress in a very inappropriate place."

"Taryn isn't like that," Lily defended.

"I don't think you know him quite as well as you think you do," Scorpius said. "Guys like him are only out for one thing."

"Funny," Lily said standing. She grabbed her broom and started toward the door. "Taryn said the same thing about you."

Lily had to admit that the new gear fit so much better than the loaner gear, and her arms didn't ache nearly as much at the end of practice. Flint spent the better part yelling at the chasers. When they landed at the end of practice, they stood in a row, holding their brooms in their left hands, except for Lily who was left handed and held her broom in her right. Flint looked tired and annoyed.

"West, if I need to I will coat your hand in glue if you think it'd help you keep the Quaffle in your hands," Flint threatened. A light bulb went off in Lily's head for how to prove to Kate and Shale that she wasn't all innocent.

Lily found herself slipping into a seat beside Albus at the dinner table that night, stealing a roll off his plate. He looked surprised and confused.

"I need a favor," Lily said to him quietly. "Between you and me, you can't even tell Hugo."

"Sure, Lily, what?" Albus said.

"I need you to get me something," Lily said. "Glue."

"Glue?" Albus asked.

"Yes, industrial strength glue," Lily said. "And lots of it."

"By when?" Albus asked.

"How quickly could you have it?" Lily asked. Albus checked his watch.

"Midnight? Maybe eight."

"Eight would be ideal," Lily said.

"Do I want to know?" Albus asked. Lily grinned at her brother.

"Probably not," Lily said as she stood.

"Astronomy tower at eight then," Albus said. "And bring an offering."

Lily ate her dinner like nothing was wrong, as if there wasn't something going on her head. She laughed at Damon's jokes, poked fun at the Transfiguration quiz, and even allowed Shale to steal a roll off her plate, under the guise that she didn't need to be eating carbohydrates if she planned to stay light for Quidditch. He earned himself a punch in the shoulder for that.

Lily was a bundle of nerves as she left the common room close to eight that evening. She had a whole story planned in her head should someone ask what she was up to, but she barely saw anyone on her way. She took the stairs two at a time and stood alone in the astronomy tower. She walked to the outer deck, looking over the grounds. There was still a hint of light in the sky and Lily waited. She looked up at the stars as they began to twinkle in the sky above.

"Boo!" Albus said jerking the invisibility cloak off.

"You didn't scare me," Lily lied though her heart was pounding a mile a minute.

"Liar," Albus said. He held out a bag. "Here is all the glue I could come up with at that short of notice."

"Thanks Al," Lily said. "How much do I owe you?"

"Don't worry about it," Albus said shaking his head. "I can't even imagine what you could possibly want with that much glue, but knowing how evil I know you are under that sweet exterior, I can't wait."

"Awe, thanks Al," Lily said hugging him.

"It's alright," Albus said shrugging. "A guy owed me. Can I at least ask what you plan to do?"

"Its better if you don't," Lily said. "Deniability."

"Just remember that the glue is permanent," Albus said as he headed out the door, pulling the cape on.

"When are you going to let me use that cloak?" Lily asked.

"When I graduate," Albus said.

"Ah, so never," Lily said. Albus laughed and disappeared from sight completely. Lily glanced at her watch. She had a lot to do and very little time to do it. She glanced down at her black jeans and tee, thinking she looked the part. She could only hope that she could play the part as well.

Lily wandered the school for most of the night, undetected by the prefects and professors, dodging the ghosts and poltergeists of the castle. She was unseen in the shadows and worked efficiently in the dark. Just before dawn, Lily snuck back to the portrait hole. Naturally the snotty woman wasn't there and she felt around for the release latch. She was too short to reach the top of the frame and she couldn't be sure that the latch was on the side. Her fingers found what felt like a release, Lily standing on her tip toes. She squeezed it, the frame swinging open. Lily hurried into the common room, slipped undetected into her dormitory.

Asher looked up at her accusingly as Lily silently stripped down to her underwear, jerked a shirt over her head and climbed into her bed. Asher curled up against her and Lily had no trouble falling asleep. She slept what felt like 10 minutes before Kate shook her awake. Lily looked up at her unsympathetic friend.

"You've over slept," Kate said. "If you want breakfast, you'd better come now."

Lily jumped up, threw her clothes on, and headed down to breakfast. She was calm, wondering who would notice what had happened and when. She was disappointed to see that all of the bacon was gone by the time she made it to breakfast. She sighed dejectedly and ate her porridge, frowning. She glanced around and it seemed like everyone had bacon except her.

"Why so down?" Scorpius asked from his seat. Lily looked over at him and then to the large pile of bacon in front of him.

"No bacon makes for a bad day," Lily said pouting. She glanced at his pile.

"Would you like a piece or two?" Scorpius asked.

"Very much so," Lily said.

"What will you give me?" Scorpius asked. Lily's smile faltered.

"What do you want?" Lily asked. Scorpius laughed.

"Nothing bad, but I'll have to think about what it will be later," he said as he held up a few crisp pieces. "So, do we have a deal?"

"I don't know," Lily said hesitantly. Scorpius smirked.

"Sucks for you because this bacon is so crispy and tasty," Scorpius said. Lily groaned.

"Ok, ok," Lily said snatching the bacon from him. "You're so mean."

"I'm a business man," Scorpius laughed.

"So, where's your shadow?" Lily asked after a minute.

"Darla's in the hospital wing with womanly issues," Scorpius said rolling his eyes. Lily made a face and laughed. Every month, Darla would spend three days in the hospital for her 'womanly time'. At first it had scared Lily until she got her own and realized Darla was a drama queen.

"This bacon is so good," Lily said. Scorpius grinned as he scooted closer to her, now that the students between them had made themselves scarce. He went to say something when Professor McGonagall burst into the Great Hall. Everyone turned to look.

"Classes have been cancelled for today," she announced loudly. Cheers went up around the Great Hall.

"Why?" Rose demanded before she realized who she was sassing off to. Professor McGonagall gave her a look and Rose sat back down quickly.

"Someone took it upon themselves to glue everything to the ceiling of all the classes," Professor McGonagall said. Students pushed their way out of the Great Hall in hoards to go look at the countless classrooms. Each classroom was perfect, except that it was all on the ceilings. Lily stood next to Scorpius, munching on the fist full of bacon she snatched off his plate on their way to look.

"Your brother's a genius," Scorpius whispered in Lily's ear as they looked at the first classroom they came to.

"Hmm," Lily murmured noncommittally. She took a bite of bacon.

"Is that my bacon?" Scorpius accused grinning at her. She hid the bacon behind her back.

"What bacon?" Lily laughed as she took off back to the common room. Albus jumped out at her, dragging her behind a tapestry she didn't even know had a secret hiding place. She mentally filed that information in her brain.

"It's brilliant, Lily," Albus said cheering. "I didn't know you had it in you."

"Aren't you afraid you'll get blamed?" Lily asked quickly. Albus grinned.

"I was in the hospital wing all night long with a stomach ache," Albus said. "It was the perfect alibi, and yet everyone will think it was me."

"They already do," Lily said nodding. Albus laughed.

"You really might be Marauder material after all," Albus said. He looked at her. "So, the ceiling, huh? Why?"

"Why'd I do it?" Lily asked. "I did it to prove that I'm not as sweet and innocent as everyone thinks I am."

"I don't think that was the innocence that they were questioning, Lily," Albus said. He patted his sister's shoulder. "Don't be worried about whether you are or aren't. You're perfect the way you are."

"Awe, Alby's getting all tender on me," Lily teased.

"Shh! We swore we'd NEVER utter that nick name here," Albus said scowling. "Now get! Go!"

"You know, you're one of my favorite brothers," Lily laughed. Albus shook his head.

"You're such a funny girl," Albus said. "Now go and enjoy the day off from classes. I know I will."

"Aye, aye Alby," Lily teased as she started walking away from him.

"Oh, and Lily," Albus said with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Yes?" Lily replied.

"Thank you for giving me this bit of blackmail against you," Albus said laughing and rubbing his hands together quite menacing. "I'll use it well."


	10. A Solitary Breath

A/N: As no one has read chapter nine, I will have to assume that everyone loved it and hated Taryn the slimy git of a boy that poor Lily is dating. What a… never mind. Thanks for reading and reviewing (which I know you will do once you read). On to chapter ten. Oh, having completed chapter ten, it is much shorter (the shortest so far) but I think I make up for it in the end wink.

Disc.: Borrowed for my own devices.

* * *

A Solitary Breath

Lily sat at the table in the library, by the window with the sun peeking through as she hunched over huge book, pour all of her soul and being into her Transfiguration essay. She knew that she was being watched from a distance. She could feel it. Lily bit the back of her quill, writing and scratching out things she had written. She glared at the paper and generally ignored the other people at her table who were being a little loud and a lot rowdy. Madame Pince was certain to kick them out at that rate.

"Guys, come on," Lily pleaded with them half heartedly. "I want to get this finished."

"We have two weeks," Kate protested.

"You should still be celebrating, Lily," Shale said. "You annihilated those Gryffindors yesterday."

"I know," Lily said grinning. "I was there, after all."

"Come celebrate with us," Kate begged. "How often do we get to boast that we sent the Gryffindor team to the hospital after one short match with us?"

"Hopefully more often," Shale said. Lily looked up at them and half grinned.

"I didn't mean to hit James upside the head with the bludger," Lily said.

"We know, we know," Shale said shaking his head. "Sweet, loving Lily never intended to hurt her big brother. But the fact of the matter, you did."

"You know they're going to make it hell for us next go round," Lily said.

"Yeah, but you won't play them again until the spring, so no worries," Kate said. "You won't change your mind?"

"No, I like to be ahead on my papers," Lily said. Kate and Shale rolled their eyes and left Lily alone at the table. She was thankful because they had made it nearly impossible to work on her paper, the way they insisted on chattering about the match the day before.

She had done well, and she had done exactly like she said she would. She didn't go easy on her brother and cousin, nor did she target them any more than any other player. The Gryffindor team assumed she would go easy and James kept getting the ball. That was their mistake and Lily had sent James out of the game at the end, straight to the hospital. She had forgone the after party, to celebrate the Slytherin win, and instead went to visit her brother. The rest of the Gryffindor team glared at her, even Hugo, but James understood. It wasn't personal, it was Quidditch.

"What are you so lost into thought with that you didn't hear me?" Scorpius asked touching Lily's arm. She jumped. Her face was red with embarrassment.

"Just reliving the glory of the game," Lily admitted. Scorpius grinned and took the seat next to her.

"That was a hell of a game. I have to say I'm proud of you," Scorpius said. Lily blushed.

"I'm just one player," Lily reminded him. "The win was all of us working together, well that and West keeping the Quaffle in his hands for a change."

"Too true," Scorpius said laughing.

"Where's Darla?" Lily wondered aloud. Scorpius made a face.

"Why do you always ask about her?" Scorpius asked. Lily blushed.

"It's really more for me than for you," Lily said. Scorpius looked at her but said nothing more. He had a feeling that neither of them would like the answers to the questions that they had for each other, especially since nothing could ever come of it.

"She's with her sister," Scorpius said. "Her Great Aunt Somebody or the other died of Dragon Pox."

"Oh, how awful," Lily shaking her head, "you'll give her my apologies?"

"Yes, of course," Scorpius said quietly.

"Wow, Dragon Pox," Lily murmured as she bit her bottom lip in thought. "I didn't think it was really that fatal."

"I don't know," Scorpius said shrugging. "I don't know how old the aunt was. Maybe age has something to do with it."

"I'm really sorry, Score," Lily said as she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Scorpius asked uncertainly, a confused smile on his face. Lily looked at him sympathetically.

"You've lost a part of your future family," Lily said.

"Lils, I didn't know the lady and Darla and I aren't married yet," Scorpius said. He breathed. "Or ever if I could convince my grandfather."

"Good luck with that," Lily said. "Lucius isn't one that gets swayed easily."

"You're telling me," Scorpius said. "If my grandmother and father would let him, he'd have me marked with that antiquated dark mark on my next birthday."

"No, really," Lily said.

"Yeah," Scorpius said. Lily removed her hand from his shoulder slowly. "Hey, he's not going to. It's illegal now, you know, to brand groups. Plus I don't want him marring my forearm."

"Hmm," Lily said as she pushed back his sleeve. She ran her finger along the skin. "It is a nice forearm." Scorpius shivered and laughed, brushing her touch from him.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Scorpius said. Lily looked at her paper.

"I really should work on this essay," Lily said. She looked at him, a pleading look in his eyes.

"C'mon Lily," Scorpius said in a low whisper as he leaned in towards her. He whispered in her ear. "I won't bite."

"I think that you biting me is the least of my worries," Lily teased. She nodded and began to shove her stuff back in her bag.

"Did you write Taryn of your success?" Scorpius asked. Lily nodded as she stood.

"You know, I wish you weren't so much taller than me," Lily said changing the subject. "You're going to give me a crick in the neck from looking up at you."

"Awe, you look up to me?" Scorpius teased. He slouched down a bit. "Is this better?"

"Stop," Lily laughed as she hit his shoulder. "That's terrible for your posture."

"Whew, good, because it was so uncomfortable," Scorpius said as the two of them headed out of the library. Lily laughed and they headed toward the common room so that they could drop off Lily's bag. She grabbed her sweater and the two of them headed out onto the grounds.

"Feels like it's going to be a hard winter," Lily said as she pulled her sweater tighter around her. "Here we are on the cusp of October and the leaves are already changing and there is chill in the air."

"Better?" Scorpius asked as he put his arm around her.

"Y-yeah," Lily said. She could feel her heart racing and she knew it was wrong. Scorpius was Darla's boyfriend, Taryn was her own boyfriend, and yet she was strolling along the school grounds with Scorpius' arm around her.

"I wish things were different," Scorpius said quietly.

"Yeah," Lily said knowing exactly what he was talking about without him saying much more. They were fairly hidden from the school when Scorpius pulled her into his arms. Lily didn't resist, just rested her head on his chest, his arms wrapped around her. Lily could feel his heart pounding as fast as her own was. She looked up at him, his fingers touching her cheek.

"You know, I love you," Scorpius said quietly. "I hate that I do, because I can't be with you, but I love you."

"Scorpius," Lily protested. His fingers touched her mouth.

"Shh," he said. "Give me this moment, please. For this moment let's just pretended that nothing is standing in our way. There are no boyfriends, no girlfriends. Just let's pretend that it's just you and me."

"I want to," Lily said weakly. Scorpius nodded, biting his lip in anticipation. He leaned in, his lips parted slightly. Lily turned her head. "I just can't."

"I… I understand," Scorpius said after a few moments. He released her. "I'm sorry, Lily. I shouldn't have even suggested it."

"It's ok," Lily said. She looked up at the sky. "We should head back. It's nearly dinner time."

"Yeah," Scorpius said. He sounded disappointed.

"I'm sorry," Lily said looking up at him. She forced a smile. "You know I'd be more than happy to have you be my first real kiss, but I can't cheat on Taryn. Plus, you have Darla and this wouldn't be fair to either of them."

"You're right, Lils," Scorpius said kissing Lily's cheek. "Let's go to dinner."

Lily headed out to the locker room, ready to suit up for her game against Ravenclaw. She pushed through the door, glancing at Scorpius before she headed to her locker. She pulled her hair up into a tie before she pulled on her Slytherin green Quidditch robes. She strapped her safety gear on and grabbed her broom, waiting for the others. Flint barked commands to them and Lily smirked at him. He was rough around the edges, yes, but he wanted to win as much as the rest of them wanted to win.

Lily lined up, standing between Damon who was in front of her and Scorpius who was behind her. They were all close to each other, getting ready to be announced and to pile out of the locker room. She felt Scorpius lean forward, his body brushing against her back. She felt his breath on her ear.

"My first goal is for you," he whispered so that only she could hear. Before she could respond, they were ushered out of the locker room and out on to the pitch. The wind was harsh, biting. Lily's face felt raw and she wished that the game would end and she could get a piping hot cup of tea. Still, she forged on defending her team and doing her best to unseat her opponents and darkness descended on the pitch.

The Ravenclaw seeker caught the Snitch, ending the game. Ravenclaw won by ten points. Scorpius and Lily both groaned at the loss. Lily patted him on the shoulder. He sighed and smiled somewhat disappointed in their close loss. Lily didn't even have a chance to react when the Ravenclaw beater launched the bludger at her. It connected with the side of her face with a sickening crunch and Lily nearly passed out. Scorpius went to grab her, certain that Lily was going to fall. Lily regained her balanced and took off after the Ravenclaw beat. He was quick but Lily was quicker and she grabbed the back of his robes.

"Lily! Stop!" Scorpius yelled as Lily wailed into the boy, his arms up to protect him. Scorpius jerked her off the boy who she had pinned to the ground at this point.

"He knew that the game was over!" Lily cried. The fourth year beater was sobbing on the ground, his front two teeth missing and his face covered in blood. Professor Wood gave him a once over and sent the boy to Madame Pomphrey for repair.

"She'll grow your teeth back, son," Wood said. He turned and looked at Lily. "Let's see what we've got here."

"Brookes hit her with a bludger well after the call of the win," Scorpius said. Wood tilted Lily's face to get a better look at it. Her cheek was already dark purple, the front of her robes were covered in her own blood.

"Maybe you should go get checked out by Madame Pomphrey," Professor Wood said. "Faces aren't meant to stop bludgers."

"I'll be ok," Lily protested.

"Take Potter up there, Malfoy," Flint said. He turned to Lily. "Malfoy's going to stay with you to make sure you actually go and get honest treatment. Great left hook, by the way."

"I can't believe I hit him," Lily said as she walked back to the castle. She looked at her fist, scraped from hitting the boy's glasses and teeth.

"I can't believe we didn't get to him first," Scorpius said. Once inside the castle, he got a good at Lily's face. He turned her face to the torch and cringed. "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah," Lily said as her fingers touched the bruised cheek.

"I bet," he said. "I'm surprised you didn't cry, to be honest."

"I did, you just didn't see me," Lily admitted. "I have two older brothers and older cousins. I am the baby. You just don't let them see you cry."

"Awe," Scorpius said slinging his arm around her shoulders. "I wouldn't have made fun of you. Maybe brushed away your tears and… well… we'll just leave it at that."

"Yeah, probably for the best," Lily said smirking. The movements of her face made her cringe in pain. Still, they continued on to the hospital wing. Madame Pomphrey took one look at her and she shook her head.

"Sit here and change…" Madame Pomphrey said directing Lily to one of the hospital vestibules. Lily grinned at Scorpius.

"I don't think you want to stick around for the end part of this undressing," Lily said blushing. Scorpius' eyes got big and he stepped out from the area only returning when Madame Pomphrey gave him the go-ahead.

"So, I hope you don't mind," Lily said as Scorpius stood beside her bedside. "I volunteered you to sit with me while the skele-patch fixes the fractures in my skull. Apparently that Ravenclaw idiot cracked my head and now I'm not allowed to go to sleep until it's been six hours."

"I don't mind," Scorpius said sitting on the chair.

The Slytherin team came in and out, as well as Lily's brothers and cousin, to check to see how she was doing. After a while of the Gryffindors and the Slytherins glaring at each other over Lily, Madame Pomphrey sent them on their way. Lily frowned as she ate.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked as he looked up from the tray the school's house elves brought up.

"I think I must have bit my lip," Lily said touching her mouth. She pulled her fingers away from the inside of her lip, a pink tint on the very tips.

"Looks like it," Scorpius said. He took an ice cube out of the ice bucket and wrapped it in a napkin. "Hold this to your lip for a second or two. It should take the sting off of it."

"Thanks," Lily said after a few minutes. "That feels much better."

"Done here?" he asked taking her tray. He set them with the other trays slated to be cleared. Madame Pomphrey came in, dressed in her night gown and her hair up in rollers.

"Your temperature looks good and it's nearly been six hours," she said. "I think you'd be safe to sleep in your own bed tonight."

"Good," Lily said.

"Get dressed and I'll send you with a night pass," Madame Pomphrey said. Lily swayed a second as she climbed out of the bed, Scorpius grabbing her.

"Do you really think you're ready?" Scorpius asked.

"Don't be silly," Lily said. "It was just a momentary sway. I'll be ok."

The two of them walked down the empty corridors of the school, not talking. Lily looked at him hesitantly. He stopped; there was a questioning look in his eyes. They both blushed, a silent conversation happening between the two of them. Lily bit her bottom slightly and she stepped closer to him, hesitant in her actions. The movement was all he needed and Scorpius took her by the hand and practically dragged her up the stairs of the Astronomy tower. He threw the door open, not caring to be quiet.

The grounds lay before them, cast in a silvery moonlight on the crescent moon. Lily placed her hands on the rail, her head tilted up to look at the moon smiling at her among the millions of twinkling stars. The air was cool, not quite as bitter and biting as before. That might have had a little to do with Scorpius' arms wrapped around her. She looked at him, turning her back to the school ground.

"Tonight, let's just pretend," Scorpius urged her. Lily closed her eyes and did not speak. Instead, she tilted her head back, mouth slightly parted and welcoming to Scorpius. His mouth complied, closing the distance between them. He was gentle and slow, despite his urge kiss her so passionately that she'd never think of having a first real kiss with anyone ever again. He buried his fingers in her hair, their bodies pressed together. Lily didn't care that her heart was pound in her chest. She didn't care about her family, her friends, Darla, or Taryn. All she cared about at that very moment was the fact that she was tangled in Scorpius' arms, mouths interlocked, sharing a solitary breath.


	11. Christmas Holiday Part One

A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews. I am glad you enjoyed the developments so far. OMG, saw the preview for HP6 and let me say… OMG! I can NOT wait! This chapter is SO long, I have decided to break it up into parts, lest it be a million pages long. Enjoy and review… otherwise I'll hold the next page hostage.

Disc.: I'm only borrowing for my own devices.

* * *

Christmas Holiday (Part One)

She felt guilty. There was no other word to describe it. Even though she and Scorpius swore to never talk about or bring up the kiss, she couldn't erase it from her lips, or her heart. She had had her first real kiss with a betrothed man. She felt shameful, though no one was the wiser from the outside. Lily was, after all, used to hiding her true feelings. Darla need never know, though Lily was certain that after she told Taryn during the Christmas break he was going to break up with her. She couldn't let a great guy like Taryn be hurt because she couldn't keep her lips to herself. She felt terrible for betraying him. She closed her eyes, Asher purring in her lap, as she leaned back against the seat. The train was ticking off the miles between her and home at an alarming rate. Christmas Holiday was upon them.

The station was full of holiday travelers and Lily for one was thankful she had very little she actually needed to bring home to wash, just a few of her favorite shirts and jeans she never went anywhere without. How the house elves managed to never lose anything was amazing. Lily glanced around, Asher's basket in one hand, her rucksack in the other. She had no idea where James and Albus were. People bumped her as they pushed past. She had been polite when she waved to Scorpius and Darla who were deep in conversation and barely noticed her.

"Come on, Lily," James said grabbing her shoulder. Lily turned to see her brothers and cousins behind her. She grinned and followed them out of the barrier and to Kings' Crossing. Harry was standing there, leaning against a rail waiting for his offspring with Taryn. He threw his arms around Lily embracing her. He kissed her forehead and released Lily to retrieve Asher's basket and her bag, both which had been knocked from her hands. Asher hissed at Taryn as he took the basket from Lily.

"Your parents asked me to pick you up," Harry said simply. The six kids followed and piled into Harry's minivan. Lily laughed, knowing that her father hated the minivan with a passion. The van ride home was as rowdy as to be expected, the volume deafening.

"I think you should quit Quidditch," Taryn told Lily as the two of them sat in the very back of the van.

"What?" Lily asked making a face. "Why?"

"You got hurt," Taryn said. "I'd hate for them to mess up your pretty face. Plus, when I go pro, I'll want you cheering for me from the sidelines."

"I like playing Quidditch," Lily said crossing her arms. Taryn kissed her nose.

"Don't be that way, Lily," Taryn said. "You'll come to see I'm right."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Harry said. He swore as he pulled into the driveway of the Potter's simple house. Lily felt her stomach twist uncomfortably. Mr. Malfoy was standing there with Scorpius, a bag at Scorpius' feet. "What now?"

"What's he doing here?" Taryn demanded as he looked at Lily. She shrugged.

"Stay in the van for a minute," Harry told them as he whipped off his seat belt and climbed out of the van. The six watched as Harry and Draco Malfoy spoke. They couldn't hear anything but a loud buzzing and the kids knew that Harry had cast a Muffliato spell on the van. Still they tried to watch Harry and Draco's body language. Harry nodded, unlocking the door. Draco and Scorpius headed in as Harry headed back towards the van. He tapped the door with the van. Opening, the kids climbed out of the van. Their bags in hand, they headed into the house.

"Rose, Hugo, help your selves to snacks Grandma Weasley sent over," Harry said tiredly as he sat across from Draco at the table. Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose slightly. "Ok, guys and Lily, Scorpius is going to be stay with us for the holiday."

"Why?!" James and Taryn both protested. Harry glared at them both.

"Er, why?" They corrected sounding less protesting and more concerned, even if it was falsely so.

"Dragon Pox," Draco said dully. The kids moved away from Scorpius.

"I don't have them," Scorpius said scowling.

"My parents both seemed to have come down with it," Draco said. "I have to be there to care for them, but Scorpius needn't catch it."

"Doesn't he have like a wife or something?" Taryn suggested hopefully.

"Darla and I are having a bit of a breather at the moment," Scorpius said looking at Lily. Lily looked away, focused on the cookie Rose placed on a plate before her.

"Anyways," Harry said. "We need to figure out where Scorpius can sleep."

"Not my room," James and Albus both said.

"No offense, but Slytherin can sleep in the chamber of Gryffindor," James added quickly when Harry momentarily glared at his son.

"He can take my room," Lily said quietly. "Taryn can take Albus' room. Albus can bunk up with James and I'll sleep in the television room."

"That… would work," Harry said thinking. "That would actually work fairly well, and yeah, that sounds like a plan. Taryn in Albus room so he doesn't have that whole Gryffindor complex and with Lily already being a Slytherin, that'd work perfectly."

"I can't very well banish Lily to a couch in the T.V. room," Taryn protested.

"Would you rather Lily and Scorpius share a private bathroom?" Albus muttered under his breath. Taryn looked at him confused. "Lily and I have a connecting bathroom and closet."

"Sleep well on the couch," Taryn told Lily as he patted her on the head like a child. She rolled her eyes at him.

"It's a pull out sofa," Lily said. She crossed her arms sitting back on the chair.

"Well, it's settled then," Harry said standing. Mr. Malfoy stood as well, shaking Harry's hand firmly as if they were shaking on some important business deal.

"You sure about this?" Mr. Malfoy asked. "I mean you already have a house guest."

"Of course," Harry said grinning at Scorpius said. "Really, what's one more kid? We'll be fine, Draco."

"I do appreciate it," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dragon Pox of all things."

"It's going around, I hear," Harry commented as he walked the man out the door.

"This is going to be a fun week," Taryn said sarcastically. Lily shot him a look but didn't say anything. Instead she released Asher from his basket and the cat ran off to find his favorite spot on Lily's bed.

"Lily why don't you show the boys where they will be sleeping," Harry suggested. Lily nodded and stood. She picked up her own bag and headed up the stairs, Taryn right behind her. She opened Albus' door, pointing to the room.

"This is Albus' room," Lily said. "Feel free to mess with all his toys."

"They're not toys! Their action figures!" Albus yelled from downstairs. Taryn walked in, dropping his stuff on the small twin sized bed, wrapping his arms around Lily and pulling her down on it with him.

"I can't say much can happen on a bed this small," Taryn teased as he kissed her neck and cheek. She laughed and pulled away.

"My dad is just down the stairs," Lily protested. She glanced at the door to see Scorpius standing there, his eyes smoldering with some misunderstood emotion. "Right, be back in a minute or two Taryn. I have to get Scorpius settled in."

"I'll be right here," Taryn said patting the bed he was still laying on. Lily laughed and headed out the door. Scorpius followed her to the last bedroom on the hallway and she hesitated, her hand on the knob. She turned and looked at him.

"I… I just wanted to say I've not redecorated my room since I was a little girl, so it's a bit… girly," Lily said blushing.

"I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle," Scorpius said. Lily opened the door and the two walked in.

"Wow," Scorpius said as he looked around her room. She wasn't kidding when she had told him that it was girly. Pink and frills and lace were everywhere. She had a princess canopy and the room honestly looked as if a literally femininity oozed from every surface.

"Told you," Lily said. Asher looked up at the two of them lazily from his spot on the middle of Lily's bed.

"Well, it's very pink," Scorpius said grinning. Lily groaned and turned to flee but Scorpius grabbed her hand. "No, really it is great. Thanks for giving up your room but you know, I'll gladly take the pull out sofa."

"Grandmother Weasley says that it is bad karma to not allow guest to sleep in the bedrooms," Lily told him. "I don't mind, anyways. The sofa bed is quite comfortable."

"Do you think you and I can hang out a bit this break, just you and I?" Scorpius asked. Lily hesitated, glancing at the doors that lead to the adjoining closet and bathroom.

"I… we can see how it goes, ok?" Lily said.

"Ok," Scorpius said.

"Why didn't your dad hug you good-bye?" Lily asked. Scorpius shrugged as he placed his bag on the bed.

"Dad's never been a hugger," Scorpius said. "He hasn't hugged anyone since my mum died. She was the last person he hugged."

"That had to have been hard," Lily said quietly. Scorpius looked at her with a blank look on his face, unexpressive.

"It was five years ago," he said shrugging.

"I remember her from dropping Rose and James off the platform that first day of you all's first year," Lily said thoughtfully. "She was very beautiful."

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed. He laughed. "But she died doing something she loved and my grandfather hated. That is the only way to go."

"Yeah," Lily agreed. Scorpius grinned.

"Enough sad talk," Scorpius said. He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure the boyfriend will be wondering where you went."

"Maybe," Lily said. She headed towards the door, opening it. She turned back to look at him. Scorpius had his back to her. "So you know if you ever need a hug I am right down the hall way in the T.V. room."

"Thank you," Scorpius said.

"And I've not forgotten that night," Lily said barely above a whisper as she shut the door. She had seen him tense. Lily knew Scorpius heard her.

Ginny looked a little surprised to see Scorpius at the dinner table that night, but she didn't say anything. Ron and Harry went to the garage to do whatever they normally did out there, the boys went up to play video games on the game system, and the girls were saddled with the dishes. Lily didn't mind much as it gave her time to think about things. As if in a daze, she focused on scrubbing the plates by hands while Rose rinsed them and placed them on the drying rack.

"What's up with you tonight?" Rose asked quietly.

"Nothing," Lily lied.

"Spill it, cousin," Rose said nudging her.

"It's nothing, really," Lily said.

"C'mon Lily," Rose pressed. "I have known you all your life. We've been cousins and neighbors since the day you were born. I know when something is up with you, and there is obviously something up."

"Really, Rose," Lily said adamantly. "It's nothing."

"It's you having Scorpius and Taryn bother here, isn't it?" Rose asked. Lily continued to wash the dishes. "It is, isn't it?"

"It's nothing, Rose," Lily said.

"C'mon, you promised that you would come to me whenever you needed me," Rose reminded.

"I don't," Lily said. Rose smirked at her.

"If there's nothing up then why have you practically washed the embedded design off your mother's plate?" Rose pressed as she took the final plate and washed it. "C'mon. Let's go up to your room and just talk."

"Scorpius is using my room," Lily reminded her. Rose laughed.

"He is a teenage boy," Rose said. "He's probably in the TV room with the other boys trying to kill each other with one of those violent video games."

"Fine," Lily sighed as she dried her hands on the dish towel. They headed up the stairs, the sounds of video games echoing out of the open door. Lily shook her head and went to her room. It was empty, Asher spread out on her bedspread. Lily climbed up there with him, as did Rose, the two of them shifting pillows around until they were comfortable.

"Spill the beans," Rose said. Lily laughed nervously.

"Promise you won't tell?" Lily pressed. Rose rolled her eyes and nodded.

"I've been through this with you. I'm not going to tell a living sole, I promise," Rose said. Lily took a deep breath.

"I got my first kiss, my first real kiss," Lily said quickly.

"With the lips and the tongue and all?" Rose clarified. Lily blush dark red.

"Yes," Lily said.

"Ooh, is that why you and Taryn have been weird? Was _he_ a bad kisser? Oh, were _you_ a bad kisser?" Rose asked excitedly. "When did you guys manage to have a moment of alone time for that?"

"It… it _wasn't _Taryn," Lily said. Rose's mouth hung open in shock.

"It wasn't Taryn?" Rose asked quietly. "Then who? When?"

"S-Scorpius," Lily said burying her face in her hands. She looked at Rose through her fingers and hissed at her. "And I _liked_ it!"

"W-when?" Rose asked almost as if she was afraid to know.

"That night that Ravenclaw beamed with the stupid bludger," Lily said without removing her hands.

"Oh, oh Merlin Lily," Rose murmured. "This is not good."

"I know!" Lily cried.

"He's betrothed to Darla Goyle," Rose reminded.

"I know!" Lily cried again.

"What about Taryn?" Rose asked.

"I was going to tell him," Lily said. "But that was before Scorpius showed up on my doorstep."

"Oh, Lily," Rose murmured again thoughtfully. "What a mess."

"Indeed," Lily cried. She pulled her hands away from her face. "And the worst part, I can't _stand_ Taryn touching me and kissing me anymore. I want Scorpius."

"Oh, honey, you can't have him," Rose cooed to her, patting Lily's shoulder.

"I know!" Lily cried as she buried her face into the pillow. Rose hugged her best she could.

"Love is never easy, Lily," Rose told her quietly.

"Rose! Hugo! It's time to go!" Ron's voice echoed through the house. Lily sniffled as she sat up. Rose handed her a tissue.

"I'm just down the side walk, Lily," Rose reminded her. "If you need an escape."

"Thank you," Lily said dabbing her eyes. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Uh, no. I don't want to be the one that tells your brother that you are in love with a practically married man, the enemy of that same brother," Rose teased. Lily laughed through her tears and checked her appearance in the mirror on her way out the bedroom.

Lily pulled out the sofa bed, the sheets crisp and cool in the house that was normally warm enough. The TV room seemed to have decided to take a chill on and Lily pulled out a thick quilt to snuggle deep inside of the blanket. She ignored the sounds of the rest of the house and instead fell into a deep, dark sleep plague with Quidditch players vying for Lily to choose them.

Lily felt the bed shift rather rudely as someone jumped onto the sofa bed next to her. She groaned as the TV came on and more people joined the room. She pulled the covers over her head, trying to block out the sounds of death and explosions as the boys went to work playing their video games. She didn't want to be woken so early and her hand slipped out of the blanket and reached across to the table where she had tossed her watch. She sat upright.

"It's seven in the morning!" Lily protested.

"Nice hair," Taryn laughed with his mouth full of milk and cereal. Lily shot him a very nasty look and climbed out of bed.

"It's cold in here," she complained as she left. She didn't care that she looked seven ways of hell and instead marched into her room, not realizing that Scorpius was asleep. He watched her, half asleep as she headed into the adjoined bathroom. Yawning, he climbed out of bed stretching and scratching his bare chest. He yawned again as he slipped on his jeans. He looked up, mid-way of buttoning them as Lily came out of the bathroom with a towel on around her.

"Oh," Scorpius said with a look of surprise on his face. His fingers froze on his buttons.

"Sorry if I woke you," Lily mumbled as she uprooted her feet and headed to her dresser. She pulled some clothes out of the drawers and headed back to the bathroom. Lily closed the door and leaned against it, her face on fire. She hadn't expected him to be standing there in various states of undress. Lily dried off with her towel and dressed in her clothes.

"You're too thin," Taryn said standing in the doorway. Lily looked up horrified.

"How long have you been standing there?" Lily demanded. Her face was bright red.

"I just walked up," he said. "You should shut and lock both doors, though. Especially with all these guys in this house. Anyone of them could walk in and see more of my Lily than they should see."

"Taryn, it's not that big of a deal," Lily said flippantly as she brushed her hair into a ponytail.

"With _him _in the house, I want you to stay covered up unless you're behind locked doors, ok?" Taryn pressed. Lily frowned.

"Why are you being so possessive?" Lily asked.

"I just don't trust him," Taryn said as he stepped into the bathroom. He cupped her face, running his thumb over her bottom lip. "You're just so beautiful and perfect. I don't want him to tarnish you."

"I'm not some precious metal, Taryn," Lily protested. "Scorpius and I are friends. Nothing more."

"Good," Taryn said quickly kissing her lips. He leaned against her, almost pinning her between the counter with his body. "I couldn't live with myself if I thought that someone as unworthy as he touched you while under my watch."

"Taryn, my parents are downstairs," Lily protest as she felt his mouth go to her neck.

"No they're not," Taryn promised. He pulled her by the wrist to Albus' bed. "We can just cuddle a bit. Your parents won't be home for hours."

"We really shouldn't and I've not eaten breakfast," Lily said.

"It's ok," Taryn told her. "I've already eaten enough for the both of us."

Lily found herself pinned between the bed and Taryn, his mouth on hers. She cringed inside, knowing that he thought he was giving her the best first kiss a girl could ever want. He did kiss well, but no matter how he tried, Taryn was too late on that first kiss. Despite herself, Lily could feel a myriad of feelings twisting behind her navel. She wouldn't quite classify it as butterflies, not like when she and Scorpius kissed. She couldn't deny she was kissing Taryn back, because she was, but when her eyes were closed it was Scorpius she saw. She knew it was wrong.

"We should stop," Lily breathed.

"Not yet," Taryn said as he pressed into her harder, kissing her deeper. She felt his hand on her skin, her shirt pushed up some that her stomach was no longer covered.

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Not on my bed!" Albus exclaimed as he stood there in the door way. "And not my sister."

"Hey, your sister's hot," Taryn said shrugging with a grin as he finally released her from his clutches.

"I don't want to know that," Albus said covering his eyes. "And, I never want to see that again. Don't taint up my bed making out with my sister, man. That's just not cool."

"I'm going to get breakfast," Lily said with her face on fire.

"You up for another round of Shoot 'em Dead?" Taryn asked Albus as if nothing had just transpired between himself and Lily.

"Yeah," Albus said nodding. Lily pushed past him and headed down to the kitchen. She looked at Scorpius who was standing there with a plate of bacon and eggs. His face was blank though she was sure he had heard Albus' outburst.

"I made you breakfast," he said quietly. He placed it on the table and poured her a glass of juice.

"Thank you," Lily said as she sat down. Scorpius took his own plate and took the chair across from her.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked her. Lily looked up at him with a look of surprise. She nodded.

"Yeah," Lily confirmed.

"I just want whatever will make you happy," Scorpius said looking down at his plate.

"Me too," she said.

"Hey, can someone go out to the woodshed and get more firewood for the fireplace?" James yelled down from upstairs.

"Sure thing," Scorpius yelled back. He took a final bite of his food and placed the plate in the dishwasher. Lily watched him pull his coat on and head out the backdoor. Lily jumped up, abandoning her breakfast and joined him, pulling her own coat on as she stepped out into the brisk December air. Scorpius looked around.

"The logs have to be split first," Lily told him as she opened the shed. "The axe is in here."

"It's dark," Scorpius said touching her shoulder as he followed her into the shed.

"Yeah," Lily said as she looked up at him, the only light coming from the open door. He kissed her suddenly, his hands on either side of her face. She put her hands up, and for a second thought of pushing him away. After all, she had just kissed Taryn, her boyfriend, just a while before. She found herself pulling him closer in spite of it, her fingers tangling in his hair. Scorpius touched her face gently, it cradled in his hands. There was a hunger in the way that they kissed each other. Scorpius pulled away hesitantly, breathless. He licked his lip slightly.

"You taste like cherry," he said. Lily blushed and pulled out a tube of lip balm.

"Cheery Cherry," Lily said wiggling the tube. It slipped from between her fingers and fell to the floor. She kneeled, picking it up. She reached up, her hand on his hip, holding onto his belt, as she proceeded to stand.

"What in Merlin's Stones is going on here?" Taryn demanded angrily. From his vantage, from anyone's vantage it did not look good. Scorpius looked down, realizing what Taryn thought was going on and he jumped back.

"Oh, nothing like that," Scorpius said quickly, his hands up in surrender. He back away, not from fear but from the conflict.

"I dropped my lip balm," Lily said as Taryn advanced. She held it up as if it would shield him from advancing.

"Don't stand up for him," Taryn told her.

"Don't talk to her like that," Scorpius said advancing towards him. Both boys had their fist clenched and Lily put her hands up to keep them apart.

"Don't tell me how to talk to my girlfriend," Taryn threatened. "Or else."

"Or else what?" Scorpius challenged, rising to Taryn's threat.

"Easy you two," Lily snapped. "Nothing happened. Come on, Taryn. Let's go back inside, back upstairs."

"This isn't over with, Malfoy," Taryn shouted at Scorpius.

"No it isn't… _whatever your surname is_," Scorpius replied. If it hadn't been so tense, Lily would have laughed at that response but she couldn't. The air was thick with contempt and anger, and there was no place for humor. Lily practically drug Taryn out of there by his arms, the boy worked up and angry.

"I told you I didn't want you to be alone around him," Taryn said in angry whispers. "I don't trust him."

"I just showed him where the axe was," Lily said as she stroked his arm. He pulled away. "I dropped my lip balm and you walked in as I was picking it up. It was really all innocent."

"You'd never cheat on me, would you Lily," Taryn demanded. Lily shook her head.

"Let's go play video games, ok? Rose and Hugo should be here soon," Lily said as she kissed his cheek and pulled him towards the stairs. Inside she was screaming.

"Oh, Rose and Hugo are already upstairs," Taryn said quickly. Lily breathed a sigh of relief as Taryn seemed momentarily distracted. James had collapsed the sofa bed and everyone was lying about in various positions. Taryn threw himself in an overstuffed chair, pulling Lily down into his lap.

Lily felt Taryn tense and pull her closer as Scorpius walked in the T.V. room carrying a stack of firewood. James jumped up, tossing his controller to Hugo who continued to play the game as if he had been playing all along. He helped put the wood in the bin and start a fire. The room quickly lost its chill, a fire roaring in the hearth while the gaming continued.

"These games are addictive," Scorpius said as his turn came up. "Makes me wish I didn't live in an all magical household."

"I love living in an all magical house," Taryn said glaring at him.

"Anyone want to help me make lunch?" Rose asked. She touched Taryn's shoulder. "Taryn, why not you?"

"Uh, sure," Taryn said as Lily climbed free of his lap to take James' controller. Lily didn't even watch Taryn leave; instead she sat back in the chair on the very edge as the fighting game loaded up.

"I hope you don't mind getting your butt kicked by a girl," Lily teased Scorpius as she chose her character.

"You talk a big game, Lils," Scorpius taunted. "Let's see if you can put your fist where your mouth is."

"You mean your money," Lily laughed.

"Either way," Scorpius grinned, his character chosen.

The game began, and both dodged, jerked, and twisted their bodies as if they were the characters in the game even though the movements did nothing for the game play, actually. It was the dance of the gamer, the bobbing motions to avoid the opponent at all cost. Lily and Scorpius both played their hardest but Lily was victorious. She jumped up and down, cheering, her controller above her head. She looked at Scorpius, laughing.

"I won! I told you!" Lily laughed. Scorpius smirked and handed the controller to James. James laughed and the two of them started the second game as Rose stormed into the room with the plate of sandwiches. Taryn was right behind her, carrying the pitcher of juice and a stack of cups. He set them down and immediately grabbed Lily and pulled her back to him.

"I missed you so much," he whispered to you. "We should go for a walk."

"Now?" Lily asked frowning as she struggled to reach a sandwich from her place on Taryn's lap.

"Yes, now," Taryn said. He wasn't smiling. Lily shrugged and followed him out of the T.V. room wishing she had grabbed one of the sandwiches. Taryn pulled her down the stairs by the hand, straight out the door, barely letting Lily grab her coat.

"What's wrong, Taryn?" Lily asked as she slipped her arms into her coat. She struggled to get the zipper up for a second before abandoning it and resorting to shoving her bare hands into pockets. She looked up at Taryn, him standing over her by a good foot, just like everyone in the world.

"Your cousin, Rose, kissed me," Taryn said. He was frowning.

"W-what?" Lily stuttered.

"Your. Cousin. Rose. Kissed. Me." Taryn repeated slowly.

"Why would she do that?" Lily asked.

"I don't know," Taryn said visibly upset. Lily frowned.

"That's not like Rose," Lily said crossing her arms.

"She's jealous of us, Lily," Taryn assured her as he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead. "She told me that if I told you that she would lie and say that I came on to here because she doesn't really want us together."

"But… Rose is like a sister to me," Lily said confused.

"I told her that I couldn't keep it from you, Lily," Taryn said. He lowered his mouth to Lily's. "She told me that you kissed Scorpius."

"W-what?!" Lily said as she tried to pull away.

"I don't blame you, Lily," Taryn said quietly. "You had a head injury. All the more reason that you are going to quit the team."

"Wait, what?" Lily struggled.

"Lily, I said that I don't blame you," he said stroking her hair. "Malfoy took advantage of you."

"I kissed him," Lily said.

"Are you so certain?" Taryn asked. Lily thought back. She couldn't recall who kissed whom first, just that they kissed and it had been good. Taryn nodded. "You have doubt; I can see it in your eyes. Look, no one loves you like I do."

"But why would Rose kiss you and then threaten to blackmail you with it?" Lily asked. Taryn grinned.

"Even cousins that are like sisters get jealous when one is so much prettier and smarter than the other. Rose is a pretty and smart girl, but beside you she is no more pretty that a wench or hag," Taryn said. Lily blushed. "I just couldn't let her do it just out of jealousy and spite. Please don't hate her, Lily. She can't help being jealous."

"Rose has never been jealous of me before," Lily said uncertainly.

"I'd beg to differ," Taryn said morosely. He took her by the hands. "Look, Lily, Rose has been jealous of you since you two were little girls. You were always the cuter, younger, and sweeter of the two. She's gotten really good about hiding it, and I don't think she means to be that way. The fact of the matter, she'll do anything to make you as miserable as she is."

"I… I can't believe Rose would do that," Lily said frowning.

"Lily," Taryn said. "Why would I lie to you?"


	12. Christmas Holiday Part Two

A/N: Sorry for the extended wait. I took a few days off to read the whole Twilight Saga. Go figure. Anyways, we are back to writing, and I don't think that I will be writing much more fan fiction after this one for a while since there is a lot up in the air at the moment, so enjoy this one. Part Three is being held for Ransom, as well... You know the drill. Can you see why I had to break it up? Otherwise it'd be 19 pages so far! Jeeze… you know… and it's only about 2/3 of the way through. Enjoy, enjoy.

* * *

Christmas Holiday Part Two

Lily and Taryn walked back into the house some time later, Ginny standing at the stove, cooking dinner. Harry looked up curiously, James nearby unloading the dishwasher. Albus and Scorpius had begun to set the table. Lily turned her head quickly, wiping away a tear, and went to the refrigerator to get the drinks they'd share over dinner. Harry looked at his daughter quizzically, but he said nothing. He just watched his youngest go to work, helping set the table then joining her mother at the stove to finish dinner. Taryn was silent as he started to load the dishwasher. The tension between the two was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Where did Rose and Hugo go?" Taryn asked casually as if it was nothing.

"They went home for dinner," Ginny said lightly. She smiled at him and everyone sat down at the table. Lily sat between her father and Taryn, across from her mother. Taryn kept his arm around the back of Lily's chair and Lily ate quietly, not saying much of anything.

"What's up with you tonight?" James asked Lily in a slightly teasing way. "Usually we can't get her to shut up."

"I just don't feel well tonight," Lily said. Ginny nudged Harry, who put his hand to Lily's forehead.

"You are a bit warm," Harry agreed. "Maybe some aspirin and early to bed with you."

"Yeah," Lily said.

"And Lily, remember you gloves and hat," Ginny reminded her. "The next time you go out, you know?"

"Yeah," Lily said nodding as she moved her food around her plate a bit.

"Sweetie, you need to eat," Taryn said gently. Lily looked at him for a second and nodded.

"I know, sorry," Lily mumbled as she took a bite of her peas.

"Nothing to be sorry about, silly Lily," Taryn said laughing. The rest of the table joined in the laughter and Lily had to force herself to laugh as well, though it fell hollowly on her ears. The rest of dinner was full of work talk and Quidditch, but nothing more. Lily was the last one at the table, the boys having finished and retreated to the T.V. room. Harry had disappeared to the garage and Ginny had headed off for a soak in the tub. Lily remained at the table, alone.

"Lily?" Scorpius said resting his hand on her arm. She jumped, her face turning pink.

"Sorry, Score, didn't see you there," Lily said.

"Are you ok?" He asked. Lily hesitated. She needed someone to talk to, someone who she trusted, but she wasn't sure who could be completely objective in her time of great confusion.

"Yeah," Lily lied as she picked up her plate and scraped the remaining bits into the trash before rinsing her plate and loading it in the dishwasher.

"Didn't you and Rose hand wash these last go round?" Scorpius asked. Lily nodded.

"It gives us girl time to bond, but I'm not about to wash them all by myself," Lily said as she started the machine.

"Wow, and it does it all by itself?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah," Lily said. She shrugged. "I mean you still have to put them away yourself. It's not like magic or anything. Just a muggle contraption to make doing the dishes easier."

"Wow, genius," Scorpius said as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter as Lily wiped the table down.

"You sound like Grandpa Weasley when you say that," Lily said cracking a smile. Scorpius grinned, having saw Lily's first real smile since she returned from her walk with Taryn.

"You'd never guess that I was into that kind of thing, huh?" Scorpius said lowering his voice. He put his finger to his lips and grinned. "Let's keep that our little secret and hope you can do a better job not blabbing it."

"Oh," Lily said as her face darkened a bit. "Taryn knows you kissed me the night of the bludger."

"He does?" Scorpius asked. "You told him?"

"No, apparently Rose did," Lily said scowling.

"Why would your cousin tell him about that?" Scorpius asked. Lily shrugged.

"Taryn says that Rose came on to him and then told him that," Lily said. She looked at Scorpius, biting her bottom lip.

"What do you believe?" Scorpius asked. Lily opened her mouth to reply but Harry walked in from the garage. He looked at the two of them curious, them standing there barely a foot apart from each other. Scorpius moved away from Lily quickly, as if she was repelling him.

"What are you two kids up to?" Harry asked.

"Dishes," Lily said pointing at the dishwasher. Harry grinned and nodded.

"My aunt used to make me hand wash all our dishes, even when we had one of those," Harry said. Lily rolled her eyes and Scorpius started heading up the stairs slowly. He waved the boy off but gestured to Lily to sit down.

"Yeah, Dad?" Lily asked.

"What's been up with you?" He asked her. Lily liked that about her dad. He wasn't the type of man to beat around the bush.

"Do you think Rose is jealous of me?" Lily asked. Harry couldn't suppress his surprise that she would ask that.

"What makes you think that?" Harry asked.

"Taryn says that Rose kissed him, came on to him, something… I don't know. I'm really confused about that, really. Something happened during lunch prep between Rose and Taryn and I'm confused," Lily said.

"So Rose and Taryn?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, so he says," Lily said as her eyes welled up with tears.

"What do you think?" Harry asked.

"It's possible that Rose could be jealous," Lily said. "I wouldn't have noticed it before but Taryn pointed it out to me."

"What do you think you need to do about it?" Harry asked as he conjured a box of tissues. Lily took one and dabbed at her eyes.

"Honestly? I want to let her have him," Lily said lowering her voice. "I'm not in love with him. He's too pushy and he's too needy. He wants me to quit Quidditch because of a simple accident."

"He's concerned for your well being," Harry reminded her gently.

"I don't know," Lily said. "He's controlling. I don't like how it feels when we kiss."

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure I like the idea of you kissing anyone. I was in my fifth year when I kissed a girl," Harry said. "She was a sixth year. Merlin, what was her name?"

"Cho Chang, Daddy," Lily laughed at his playful amnesia.

"Oh, that's right," Harry laughed. He was happy to see that joyful sparkle in her blue eyes.

"Do you think you could just forbid me to date anyone until I'm older and send Taryn away?" Lily asked as looked at her father hopefully.

"I know it would make it easier, sweetheart, but Potters don't run from a challenge, even when we want to," Harry reminded his youngest gently. "Where would the world be if I had run from finding the Horcruxes, just because it was challenging?"

"I wouldn't have been born," Lily said thoughtfully.

"Exactly, and that would have robbed the world of a very talented witch," Harry said. He smiled at the auburn haired girl as she tucked the wavy locks of hair behind her ears. "You need to look deep inside you and decide what you believe."

"Yes Daddy," Lily said as Harry got up from his seat. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Don't let the boys stay up too late playing video games," Harry told her laughing. Both of them knew that she had no control over the hours of video gaming.

Lily and Rose stood in the kitchen alone for the first time in days. They both looked at each other, red faced and angry. Lily had confronted Rose after thinking about it for some time and deciding that he had to be telling the truth. Only Lily, Rose, and Scorpius knew about Lily and Scorpius kissing each other. Lily knew she hadn't said anything and Scorpius wouldn't have said anything. In fact, Taryn and Scorpius hadn't said a thing to each other since the shed incident. In Lily's mind that left Rose.

"Why would I tell him that?" Rose asked. She wore a look of confusion and hurt, just like Taryn predicted.

"I don't know. You tell me, Rose," Lily said shaking her head.

"I didn't tell him anything," Rose countered.

"I decided that you probably didn't mean to hurt me, but why did you have to do this? Why'd you have to kiss him?" Lily said as she tried to be compassionate to the cousin who betrayed her.

"Lily, I didn't kiss him, he kissed me," Rose protested.

"Either way…" Lily replied dismissively.

"You believe him over me, your own cousin, and your flesh and blood?" Rose retorted her face twisted with anger and hurt.

"Rose it's not that big of a …."

"Yes it is, Lily," Rose cut Lily off mid sentence. Her voice quavered with emotion. "I'd believe you if you told me that my boyfriend kissed you."

"You don't have a boyfriend," Lily replied callously.

"But if I did," Rose replied to her as if the child before her had just slapped her.

"You're just jealous," Lily snapped. Rose took a step back as if Lily had physically attacked her.

"Is… is that what he told you?" Rose asked quietly.

"It's the truth isn't it?" Lily asked snidely. Her fists were clenched at her side, her face red with anger.

"Get over yourself, Lily," Rose snapped back. She sounded as angry as Lily. Lily marched to the back door, jerking it wide open. The cold air rushed in but changed nothing of the temperature of the two girls who were both in threat of boiling over from rage and hatred.

"You should go, _Rose_," Lily snapped as she held the door wide. Rose stalked over to the door, jerking her coat off the hook.

"I'm already gone," Rose replied angrily. "He's going to break your heart, Lily. I only hope he breaks it like you've broken mine."

Lily replied by slamming the door in Rose's face, the glass pane rattling hard in its frame. Lily stormed upstairs, heading straight to her bedroom. She cared not if someone else was technically owner to it for the course of Christmas Holiday. She needed a place to go that she could be alone, not goofing with video games and attitudes and the lies… oh, the lies. There was no other explanation for Taryn knowing the information. She slammed her bedroom door, startling Asher.

Lily didn't apologize to Asher, just threw herself across her bed. She tucked her right arm behind her bed, gazing up at the canopy above her until the tiny pink rose pattern went blurry from her tears. She covered her eyes with her left forearm, yet it didn't block out that look on Rose's face, that hurt that seemed to be genuine and true. Lily cried quietly in the bed, her arm deflecting the tears.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked touching Lily's shoulder, startling her.

"Huh? What?" Lily asked disoriented. The shadows were long in the room and Lily assumed that she had fallen asleep, her face creased by her arm and blotchy from her spilled tears.

"It's dinner time," Scorpius told her, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"Did you tell Taryn we kissed?" Lily asked. Scorpius scoffed.

"Not a chance," Scorpius said. "I don't fancy a fight while being a guest of yours."

"My parents," Lily reminded him.

"What?" Scorpius asked frowning.

"You're a guest of my parents, more specifically of my father," Lily said as she climbed free of the bed, Asher curling up in the middle of the warm spot Lily left behind.

"What do you mean by that?" Scorpius asked.

"I didn't invite you here, Scorpius," Lily said at him, crossing her arms. "You have Darla."

"Where is this coming from, Lily?" Scorpius said looking at her not with anger as she had expected, but concern.

"This was supposed to be _my_ Christmas Holiday with _my_ boyfriend," Lily said to him in a quiet voice. "Taryn knows we kissed, Rose told him."

"I don't know your cousin that well, but Rose doesn't seem like the type to break your confidences," Scorpius said. Lily put her hands on her hips.

"You don't know Rose well at all. No one else knew. I didn't tell him, you didn't tell him, it had to be Rose," Lily snapped at him. "I really wish you had never come."

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something but words wouldn't come out. Lily didn't even have the self satisfaction to have rendered Scorpius speechless from a witty comeback or a quick retort. He just stared at her, mouth open and hurt in his eyes. Lily spun around and marched out of the room. She had a frown on her face, knitted eyebrows, and a glare in her eye as she sat down next to Taryn at the table. Harry glanced at her as he began to serve dinner.

"Your mother had to work late again," Harry told Lily.

"Some big surprise there," Lily said not quite so under her breath. Harry ignored her and he took his place at the head of the table. Scorpius took his seat across from Lily, frowning. Albus and James remained quiet, knowing more than they let on about the whole situation. The group ate silently, no words exchanged. At the close of the meal, Lily was left with the clean up duties. She felt irrationally angry, though she wasn't sure if it was anger at herself or anger at everyone else. She just felt angry.

"Lily," Ginny said in greeting as she walked in the door, hanging up her coat on the hook. "I really wish it would snow already. It doesn't feel like Christmas, just cold and wet."  
"Mhmm," Lily murmured as she poured soap into the dishwasher and set the machine.

"Are you ok?" Ginny asked looking at her daughter carefully.

"I wish it was just us for Christmas," Lily said without thinking.

"Honey, Dad was only trying to help a colleague out when he agreed to Malfoy's son coming to stay with us," Ginny said patting her shoulder. "I know you hate sleeping on the pullout, but you did a really nice thing giving up your room."

"Mum, Rose kissed Taryn," Lily blurted out. Ginny looked at her daughter with surprise.

"When?" Ginny said as she sat down.

"A few days ago," Lily said. She began to cry. Ginny grabbed her purse and coat.

"Harry! Lily and I are going to the market. We'll be back soon," Ginny called. Harry popped his head out of the garage and nodded, as if it was something he had expected.

"Be safe," Harry said to his two favorite ladies. Lily pulled her jacket on and followed her mother out to the car. Living in a muggle neighborhood, it was necessities to have the neighbors see you come and go in cars. Lily sat in the passenger seat, buckling in as Ginny started the car. They picked up some cups of hot cocoa and headed to the river to talk. Ginny listened carefully as Lily poured her heart out to her mother.

"I don't know what to say, Lily," Ginny said quietly as she handed her daughter some tissues. "I mean it doesn't seem like something either of them would do."

"Rose says he kissed her, he says she kissed him," Lily cried.

"It had to have been accident, a miscommunication," Ginny said hugging her daughter. "I mean, if Taryn was really interested in Rose I'd think he'd use you kissing Scorpius as an excuse to end it with you."

"Yeah?" Lily reasoned. She nodded. If Taryn was really interested in Rose, he would have used Lily's infidelity against her and gone after Rose. As for Rose, Lily didn't know what to think. They'd never been as close as James and Rose had been but Lily couldn't believe that Rose, her own cousin, would hurt her like that. After all, they were cousins. It had to be a miscommunication.

Lily headed back inside no more certain of the events that had transpired between anybody any more. She was utterly confused. She swung the door open to the kitchen and nearly fainted. Rose was there, her back against the counter, pushing Taryn away. He looked over a Lily, horror on his face. He tried to smooth it over with a look of normalcy.

"I was just telling Rose that she just couldn't have everything she wanted," Taryn said smoothly. Lily narrowed her eyes. Lily rushed up the stairs, Taryn on her heels. He grabbed her wrist as she tried to dash into the T.V. room and pulled her further away from the door, through into Albus' room. Lily struggled.

"Let go of me, Taryn," Lily said struggling.

"You have to listen to me," Taryn said as he pushed her towards the bed. Lily looked at him in shock as he closed the door, the sound of the lock echoing in the silence of the room.

"That didn't look good down there, Taryn," Lily accused.

"I know," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at Lily sympathetically. "She's hurt you, Lily. You have no idea. I just wanted to get it through to her that I will not let her come between us."

"Taryn," Lily murmured. Taryn was at her side, his lips on her chin and neck in a heart breathed.

"Lily," Taryn begged. "I love you."

"I think," Lily said as she slid away from him on the bed. "You and I need to take a bit of a break."

"Oh, Lily," Taryn breathed as he kissed her cheek.

"Taryn," she replied her resolve shaky.

"Don't let your cousin win," Taryn murmured into her ear, his fingers fiddling with the buttons on her shirt.

"Taryn, no," Lily said a little more forcefully. Taryn jerked his fingers back sharply.

"It's him, isn't it?" He demanded.

"No, it's me, Taryn," Lily replied quietly. "I'm not ready to be serious."

"I don't want to wait for this any longer, Lily," Taryn said. "If you loved me, you wouldn't make me wait any longer."

"Taryn," Lily protested a little loudly, frowning as he kissed her. She felt herself falling back against the bed. She felt herself slipping under his spell. His fingers caressed the skin of her stomach slightly, his mouth locked on hers.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked as he knocked on the door, entering the room through the communal bathroom. Taryn looked up and glared at Scorpius, a smile curl on his face quite annoyed at the interruption while happy to flaunt how far Lily was letting him get.

"She's busy, Malfoy," Taryn said. Scorpius frowned at him.

"Lily, this isn't like you," Scorpius said as Lily struggled to a sitting position. Her hair fell away from her face and she looked genuinely embarrassed that she had been caught by anyone in that position. Lily jumped up, breaking free from Taryn.

"I… I hear my mum calling me," Lily mumbled as she jetted out of the room. Taryn leaned back on the bed, grinning at Scorpius.

"You have to know, I hate you," Taryn said casually. "I can't wait until I am free of you."

"I didn't do anything to you," Scorpius challenged.

"No, but my girl seems to have decided that you were the kind of guy she'd rather be like and if I have my way, once I am finished with her, I'd make sure she was so ruined that even you wouldn't want her," Taryn laughed. Scorpius didn't think. He cocked his fist back and let it collide with Taryn's jaw just as Lily re-entered the room.

"Scorpius!" She exclaimed as she rushed to Taryn's side.

"He hit me because I defended you," Taryn said nasally as blood poured from his nose. Lily looked at him in horror, rushing to the bathroom to get a cold wash cloth. She glared at the still silent Scorpius.

"How could you hit him?" Lily demanded.

"He's using you, Lily," Scorpius murmured as he stepped towards her. Lily moved away from him.

"Leave me alone," Lily insisted.

"Please, Lily, listen to me," Scorpius insisted.

"I'm so sick of boys," Lily snapped as she rushed out the room mumbling something about ice.

"Told you. She's going to be putty in my hand," Taryn smirked. He stood up, stretching. "I think tonight, after everyone goes to sleep she and I will spend some grown up alone time."

"She's thirteen," Scorpius defended.

"So?" Taryn said shrugging. He headed toward the door. "I have needs and since I can't have Rose, Lily'll do."

"Lily'll do what?" Lily asked as Taryn stood before her.

"Always have my heart, love," Taryn said kissing her as he took the ice from Lily. Lily frowned at them and walked away, back to the T.V. room where her brothers were. Lily curled up in the chair, ignoring Taryn and Scorpius as they entered.

Lily was asleep, her dreams fitful when she awoke to Taryn holding her in his arms. She struggled against him. She had heard him earlier and she wanted to be free of him more now than ever. She tried to push him away, gently at first and then more aggressively as he didn't seem to get the idea that she wanted him away from her. She started to cry.

"You know I love you," Taryn said as he kissed her harder. She shook her head.

"All lies, Taryn," she cried. "I heard you. Rose was telling the truth, wasn't she?"

"Lily," Taryn as his hands held her upper arms against the bed.

"Get out! Get away from me!" Lily screamed loudly through her tears. Her flesh burned where his fingers touched her. "It was all lies! Everything!"

"Lily, is everything ok?" Harry asked sleepily as he flipped the light on. He blinked sleepily as he looked at Taryn and Lily struggling.

"She's having some kind of fit," Taryn told Harry. "I heard her calling out in her sleep."

"Lies!" Lily screamed as she pulled away from him. She ran to her father. "He and I are over! He needs to go now."

"Lily," Harry said as he turned to his daughter. "What happened?"

"He kissed Rose! He only wanted to do bad things with me!" Lily cried. Harry turned to the boy, his fist clenched.

"Get out of my house," Harry said in a low voice. "I should have known that you were too old for my daughter."

"Mr. Potter," Taryn said raising his hands in surrender. "It was a misunderstanding, that's all. I didn't mean…"

"You lied to me!" Lily screamed at him from behind her father, her finger pointing accusingly. Ginny wrapped herself in her robe, looking at her daughter. She wrapped her arm around Lily then sent her down the hall.

"Go to your room, Lily," Ginny whispered. She looked at Taryn, her look cold. "Son, I'm going to take you home. Get your things."

"I'll stay with him," Harry said as he followed the boy. Lily darted into her room, ignoring the half asleep inhabitant. She climbed onto the window seat, wrapping her arms around her legs as she stared out across the moonlight snow.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked softly as he moved from the bed, pulling his tee shirt on over his bare chest and stood off to her side. Lily looked at him.

"He's been lying this whole time," she cried. Scorpius frowned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a friendly sort of way.

"You know, it's going to be ok," he murmured as he touched her hair. His fingers caressed her cheek. "You're hot."

"Now's not the time," Lily groaned shoving his arm off of her. Scorpius shook his head.

"That's not what I meant," Scorpius said as he placed his wrist against her forehead. "I think you have a fever."

"Could be the tears," Lily murmured.

"No, I'm pretty sure you have a fever," Scorpius said as he pulled her off the window seat and back to the bed. He stood there. "Get in the bed, Lily. I'm going to get your mum."

"She's taking Taryn home," Lily mumbled as she climbed into the bed, suddenly feeling very weak.

"I'll get your dad then," Scorpius said as he exited the bedroom. Lily tried to stay awake but failed, falling asleep surrounded by a warm, masculine scent. It was a safe, warm scent the enveloped her deeply into a solid, dreamless sleep. She woke up some time later, chilled, to find her abdomen being poked rudely.

"You're awake," the woman said kindly. Lily frowned at her, trying to pull her shirt down over her stomach. Early morning light was filtering through the window.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Elena Jin, a Healer from St. Mungo's," she said kindly. "Your parents sent for me since you seemed to have caught yourself a case of the Pox."

"Dragon Pox?" Lily choked out. The Healer shook her head, laughing.

"Sorry, dear, I meant Chicken Pox," she said. "We're having a lot of muggle diseases crossing over to our side."

"Huh?" Lily asked.

"You have chicken pox," she said to Lily.

"I don't even like chicken," Lily mumbled. The healer laughed.

"You probably picked it up in King's Crossing," the healer said. "I'll tell the others you're awake and send them in. Might as well infect the rest of them while you're contagious."

"I itch," Lily grumbled at her. "What did you do to my hands?"

"Spelled a pair of mittens onto them," the healer laughed. "So you wouldn't scratch."

"Fantastic," Lily grumbled as James and Albus bounced into the room and immediately hugged her.

"Should we rub our heads on her belly?" Albus asked grinning. Lily frowned, suddenly very itchy as she pushed her brothers away.

"Get off," Lily growled at them. Albus laughed as Rose and Hugo came in the room, followed by Scorpius.

"Is that all of you?" the healer asked. Rose looked around.

"Where's Taryn?" Rose asked curiously. Lily scowled.

"He went home last night," James said darkly. Rose and Lily looked at each other, bursting into girlish tears. Rose threw herself half way to Lily, met by the awaiting arms. The boys looked away uncomfortably as the girls cried and hugged, their words unintelligible. Rose pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"I guess that ought to be enough to get all diseased up," Rose laughed as she grabbed a tissue. Hugo rolled his eyes, hugging his younger cousin. She made a face as Hugo laughed, rubbing his cheek against hers.

"Go on son," the healer said pushing Scorpius toward Lily. He blushed slightly and quickly hugged Lily.

"Is that even enough contact?" James snickered. Scorpius shot him a dirty look, a smile cruelly curling on his lips.

"Would you rather I kiss her?" Scorpius taunted. James made a face, shaking his head.

"Well," Scorpius said crossing his arms. He looked to the healer. "Is that contact enough?"

"I'd say perhaps," she said. She grinned. "Except you, son, I'd prefer you have a little more physical contact."

"Splendid," Scorpius said rolling his eyes as the other boys bounced merrily from the room. Rose blushed, her cheeks bright red and headed to the bathroom. The healer busied herself with something in her bag and Scorpius moved a bit closer.

"Might as well get this over with," Lily said as she crawled closer to him. "Want to rub my belly?"

"Not particularly," Scorpius said. Lily laughed. He touched her face slightly, grinning.

"Awe, c'mon," Lily said pulling away.

"Quickly," Scorpius said glancing at the healer. Lily looked and nodded once, without realizing what she was fully agreeing to, and he kissed her. His mouth touched hers and she felt herself soaring with the feeling as his mouth moved against hers. Lily felt her breath escape her. She grinned as she pulled back.

"That should infect you well enough," Lily laughed as she pushed him away with one hand, barely with enough force to swat a fly.

"Indeed," the healer murmured with a twinkle in her eye. She shooed Scorpius out of the room as Rose reentered. Rose grinned but didn't say anything at first. The healer left and the two cousins spent the rest of the day talking and making up over the stupid boy who told lies.

* * *

By Christmas Eve, all of the kids were bundled up, spotted with fevers in the Potter's television room. Lily was already on the mend, laughing as the others had mittens spelled onto their hands so they couldn't itch. Each one tried to convince Lily to itch them or scratch them since she had her last chicken pock scab up and heal a few days before. She giggled and shook her head, watching as they tried to scratch with their feet, as if they were animals with fleas.

"I guess we're not going to the annual Slytherin ball," Scorpius said mournfully as tried to scratch his arms with the mittens in place.

"I could still go," Lily teased but she shook her head. She held up a piece of paper. "It was cancelled this year because of the out breaks of chicken and dragon pox. Apparently, though, getting chicken pox will keep us pretty safe from getting dragon pox."

"You could be less cheerful about this, you know," James grumbled at her. Lily laughed the sound lilting as she touched his shoulder. She shook her head and jumped up.

"Juice anyone?" She asked as she glanced around at the group of them. All of them raised their empty glasses, their mittens still firmly attached.

"I can't believe Mum and Dad sent us here to get a disease on purpose," Hugo grumbled as he went to chew on his arm. Rose blanched and turned her head.

"At least you'll get over it before Christmas Holiday ends," Lily said. She danced around taking their glasses. "And maybe the snow will finally fall heavily enough to stick in time for Christmas."

"Ugh, your too damn cheerful," Scorpius moaned from his place on the floor. Lily grinned.

"You guys were all cheerful when I was the one who had the disease," she giggled. She headed out of the T.V. room, mitten free and down the stairs. She dumped the glasses into the sink, rinsing them with hot water while she fetched a tray of juice and cookies that Grandmother Weasley sent for the kids to enjoy while they were all ailing. Lily skipped back, balancing the tray, and nearly fell over James' legs.

"Watch out," James growled as he caught the tray second before it crashed onto the table and Lily frowned.

"What were you doing on the floor?" she asked.

"Scratching his back," Albus snickered as he tried to bite his mittens off. Lily laughed and picked up the game controller.

"Anyone want to play?" Lily asked with feigned innocence. Everyone in the room groaned. No one had been able to play the games since they donned their mittens. It made going to the bathroom the most exciting times of the day, since the mittens could come off to do the bathroom business and wash up.

"Sucks," Hugo said crossing his arms. "Figures we'd get the stupid Muggle Pox."

"Chicken pox," Lily reminded him lightly as she flipped the channel to the game and began playing against the system. She lost horribly, laughing as her character failed to beat out the computer. "Stupid Turtle Ducks."

"Koopas!" James howled with an indignant glare. "You can't call them 'turtle ducks'. They're Koopas!"

"Fine, fine," Lily laughed as she threw one of the pillows at him. "Stupid Koopas. Better, Jamesie-poo?"

"Not really," James glared. "And don't call me Jamesie-poo."

"I kind of like it," Scorpius said grinning.

"Fine, call me Jamesie-poo, but he's got to have some ridiculously sweet pet name too, like Scorpy-worpy or something."

"You wouldn't dare, Potter," Scorpius threatened with his eyes wide as he looked at Lily.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Lily challenged as a grin spread across her face. "Cutesy nicknames for everyone!"

"Get her!" Hugo called in a battle-cry. The five sprung into action, ganging up on Lily with their mitten-spelled hands and their strong wills. She was not match for them, as they all held her down, tickling until the controlled dropped from her hand and she gasped with laughter, tears streaming down her face.

"I surrender! I surrender!" Lily gasped. "No nicknames! I promise! I swear! On all my future children."

"You'd better mean very distance future children," Harry warned lightly as he came into the room to check on the itchy brood of teenagers.

"Of course, of course," Lily said as she struggled slightly into a sitting position.

"Well, I'm glad that you are all getting along well enough," Harry said. "I just thought that you guys might like to spend some time out in the snow."

"Is it sticking?" Lily asked excitedly as she jumped up and ran to the window. Sure enough a winter wonderland was forming down below just as the street lights were coming on outside.

"It's sticking," Harry confirmed as the others hurried to pull their gear on, caring less and less about their fevers and the speckled rashes.

"It's about time," James said. The others nodded.

"It's just not Christmas without snow," Rose confirmed.


	13. Christmas Holiday Part Three

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Eventually, I will need to tell you guys about my 101 list and link you guys to it. I think you'd get a kick out of it, and I need to tell you what I listen to while I am writing. Thanks to Julz and Barry who turned me onto Blue October. Great music. As you can see… should this have been one chapter it would officially have been the longest chapter ever… and no… this isn't it (though this is officially the longest chapter I have ever written for any of my stories). There's still part four. Yikes. Enjoy, and the ransom rules still apply.

Disc.: Only borrowing them for my devices.

* * *

Christmas Holiday Part Three

Lily was snuggled deep in her blankets, her face the only thing the cold air could touch. Her eyes were tight against the early morning light creeping in between the slats of the blinds. She was excited it was Christmas, but still she didn't want to wake up so early. She snuggled deep into her covers, sighing. She was back in her bed now; Albus had thankfully surrendered his room to Scorpius. She felt the mini paw prints crawling up her legs.

"No Asher," Lily groaned as she tried to knock him off her legs. The cat continued, purring wildly. Lily felt him knead her stomach through her quilt and she growled at him slightly. "I want to sleep in, Asher."

"Mew," Asher replied as his paw touched her nose.

"Asher," Lily moaned at him. "Get off."

"Mew," Asher replied innocently as his other paw rested against her cheek.

"Lily, you up?" Scorpius asked sleepily from the bathroom as Lily's door exploded open and her brothers burst into her room, jumping on her. Asher hissed at them, taking a swipe and connecting with James' hand.

"CHRISTMAS! CHRISTMAS!" Albus shouted jumping onto Lily's bed. He turned to Scorpius. "Come on, Scorpius. Help hold her down so I can tickle her."

"NO!" Lily cried as Scorpius' hands pinned her down. She laughed and struggled against Scorpius and James as Albus tickled her roughly. "Stop! I hate it!"

"Say I'm the greatest," Albus taunted as she laughed hard.

"I'm the greatest," Lily gasped with laughter. They all started laughing, releasing her.

"That's not what I meant," Albus said as Lily sprung on him, pinning him down on her own and tickling him. James laughed and was pounced on by Lily next. He tried to struggle away, but Lily managed to get a few tickles in before he over powered her and pulled free. Scorpius was already backing away when Lily looked at him, an evil glint in her eyes. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Lily… get that look out of your eyes," Scorpius said as he increased his pace as he backed up towards the bathroom. Lily sprung, chasing after him. She reached him as he reached Albus' room, tackling him to the bed.

"I got you," she laughed as she tickled him. He laughed twisting away from her. She rested back on the bed, breathless, laughing.

"Yeah, you think you're so great because you run fast," Scorpius teased. Lily stuck her tongue out at him and jumped up off the bed.

"Come on, Score, let's go see what Santa brought us," Lily teased back winking at him. She held her hand out to him. He hesitated before taking her hand and climbing off the bed.

"Ooh… holding hands," James teased, his arms crossed against his chest. Scorpius and Lily let their hands fall away, their cheeks pink. Lily scowled at him.

"Let's go see if Mum and Dad are up," Lily said heading out the door into the hall. The elder Potters were sleepily coming out the door, thankful that the kids had out grown needing to wake up before dawn.

"Happy Christmas, kids," Harry said as the four of them joined them and headed down the stairs. They all nodded as they spied the tree with the presents. "You guys are looking better, indeed. Less spotty."

"Not itchy," Albus said holding up his arms.

"Good," Ginny said grinning sleepily as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "We're still going to have to pass on going to Grandma Weasley's house though. She said she'd floo over here with dinner for us and the others, but yeah. With Grandpa Weasley feeling under the weather, she really isn't up to having a house full."

"But she sent presents," Harry said as he nodded toward the tree. "For all of you."

Chaos soon erupted as the three Potter kids and a reluctant Scorpius headed for the Christmas tree in the living room. One by one, each child was handed a present. Lily rested her hand on Scorpius' shoulder, lowering her mouth to his ear.

"Pretend to be excited when my grandmother gets here," Lily breathed quickly. "She always makes us these sweaters and she likes to see us get excited about them."

"I will," Scorpius promised looking at her. They were unnaturally close. She grinned, a slight flush to her cheeks as she sat back and unwrapped the paper from her gifts. There were the standard gifts, clothes, books, and games. Harry handed each of them the gifts Grandma Weasley had sent ahead. Scorpius winked at Lily as he opened the box.

"Mother Weasley hand makes the sweaters," Ginny told Scorpius as he looked at the emerald green sweater with the silver serpent on it.

"Wow," Scorpius said as his fingers traced the ornate design.

"She always did give non family members the better ones," Ginny teased as she saw the sweater. "Remember the one she made you Harry?"

"That I do," Harry chuckled.

"It's really great," Scorpius said grinning. He took his own sweater off, tossing it aside and pulled the one Mrs. Weasley made on over his head, mussing his hair slightly. He grinned and looked at Lily who had her own home made sweater in her hand. "How does it look?"

"Uh…" Lily said staring. Ginny piped in to spare her daughter the need to respond.

"Dashing, Scorpius. I swear she really goes all out for these things sometimes," Ginny said quickly grinning at him. "Kids, why don't you carry your stuff upstairs before Rose and Hugo get here for brunch."

"Ok, Mum," the boys said. Lily looked away quickly, gathering her presents and heading up to her room. She tossed them on her bed, pulling her tee shirt off and standing there in front of her mirror wearing an undershirt over her bra. Scorpius knocked quietly as he entered through the bathroom.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly as he looked at her. Lily looked at him in the reflection and smiled slightly.

"Yes," she said. She turned, crossing her arms as she looked at him. "The sweater looks really good on you. She really out did herself."

"Your grandmother has talent. Mine wouldn't know what to wear if it weren't for shops and such," Scorpius said walking towards her. Lily half smiled and uncrossed her arms. She reached out and touched the silver threading.

"She really did a wonderful job," Lily murmured. Scorpius chuckled and caught a glimpse of the two of them in the mirror.

"Wow, I really messed up my hair, didn't I?" he said. Lily looked up at his hair then at his reflection. She shook her head.

"I like it. Kind of dangerous and reckless, in a tousled sort of way," Lily grinned. Scorpius met her eyes, one eye brow cocked up slightly with skepticism. She laughed. "Trust me."

"I do," Scorpius said. He blushed and cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. Lily pulled her hand back, realizing it was still on him. She blushed.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she stepped away.

"Here," he said quickly thrusting a small silver wrapped gift into her hand. "I didn't want to give it to you in front of your family in case you didn't like it."

"Oh, Score, you didn't have to get me anything," Lily said frowning at the package, her fingers tracing one of the loops in the green bow. "I didn't get you anything."

"I don't care," Scorpius said smiling at her slightly. He leaned against her bed, almost sitting on it. "Open it."

"Um, ok," Lily said shrugging. Her fingers loosened the bow, the ribbon slipping between her fingers and floating to the floor. She removed the tape, to find a wooden hinged box with a carving of a snake on it. She looked at him, questioning, and he nodded at her to continue. She opened the box to find a silver chain in it. She pulled the chain free of the box, an oval pendant on the chain.

"It's a locket," he told her. She looked at him.

"A locket?" she asked. He grinned, his fingers taking it from her. He slid his finger along the edge, as if caressing it and it slowly opened. A faint musical sound emitted from it. Lily looked at Scorpius surprised.

"It's a locket with a hidden music box inside," he said. He looked at her, snapping it closed with a swift click. "You don't like it, do you?" He looked crestfallen. Lily's shock was mistaken for dislike. She shook her head.

"I love it," she said in a breathless sort of way. "I just don't think I've ever had a gift so perfect for me."

"Let me help you put it on," he said. She nodded at his reflection, her back to him already. He unfastened the clasp and put the chain around Lily's neck. His fingers touched her neck as he refastened the clasp. She turned and threw her arms around him, hugging him.

"I love it, Score. Thank you so much," she breathed excitedly in his ear. He grunted in response and Lily squeezed him tighter. She released him slightly.

"I'm glad you like it," Scorpius said quietly.

"Now I feel bad that I didn't get you anything," Lily said as she pulled away and her fingers caressed the cool metal. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her fingers touching the chain and locket.

"Don't," he told her, watching her face as she bit her bottom lip and continued to look at herself in the mirror.

"Kids! Rose and Hugo are here!" Harry called from downstairs. Lily looked at him, wanting very much to thank him more than with words. He grinned at her, picking her sweater up off the bed. He held it out to her.

"You'd better get your sweater on," he said smiling. Lily reached out hesitantly, her fingers still on the gift. A smile crossed her face and she threw herself at him, Scorpius turned his head in time and pulled back slightly, still smiling. "No need to go soft on me Lils. It's not that big of a deal."

"Oh," Lily said slightly dejected. She pulled her sweater on over her head, the metal still cool to the touch against her skin. He stepped closer, lowering his mouth to her ear.

"Don't get me wrong, Lils," Scorpius said in a breathy sort of way in her ear. "It's not that I don't want to kiss you. I do more than I could ever tell you, but don't feel obligated to kiss me because I gave you a little present."

"I… ok," Lily said frowning slightly. He pressed his lips to her cheek and pulled away.

"Let's go eat brunch," he said leaving her in the room alone. Lily looked at her reflection, a sundry of emotion playing out on her face.

Lily headed downstairs to eat and spend time with her family. Occasionally she would steal a glance in Scorpius' direction, surprised to find him looking at her back. He'd grin and she'd blush. Over and over, this happened and didn't go unnoticed by Rose. Lily and Rose did the brunch dishes before the group dressed to go out and play in the snow.

"What's up with you and Scorpius?" Rose whispered. Lily looked over her shoulder quickly, frowning at her cousin.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked.

"If I didn't know better," Rose said carefully. "I'd think you two were in love. The way he couldn't keep his eyes off of you, and the way you'd blush when you'd catch him looking."

"I don't know what you mean," Lily lied. Rose smirked.

"Well, I think you'd better be careful," Rose warned after a moment. "When we go back to school, you do realize that Scorpius will have to return to his relationship with Darla."

"I know," Lily pouted. "It's just not fair. He doesn't like Darla. He likes me. We should get a chance."

"You know I agree, but things aren't fair in life," Rose said hugging her. "If I could, I'd make it so you could have him. Really, I would."

"I don't want to think about what will happen when school starts back up," Lily said quickly as the boys came closer. "I'll worry about that then. I want to enjoy now."

"Let's go play in the snow," James said wiggling his eyebrows at the girls. "All bets off."

"Sounds like a threat there, Potter," Rose taunted as she reached for her coat.

"Indeed it does, Speckles," James tease tweaking her nose. The two of them didn't bother pulling on their coats first, just grabbed them as they ran out the door. Hugo and Albus were already out there, building their snow fort and starting their ammunition. Lily slowly walked to the hook, reaching to take her coat off the hook when Scorpius stepped beside her, his own coat firmly secure. He began pulling his scarf from around his neck, wrapping it around Lily.

"I'd hate to think you cold out there," Scorpius said. Lily blushed and nodded.

"And you?" she replied as her fingers shook slightly as she buttoned her jacket. He grinned.

"I'm covered," he said as he pulled a little on some green fabric under his coat.

"Mine?" she breathed. She grinned really big. "I knew you had my scarf!"

"Shh!" Scorpius said pressing his finger to her lips. He grinned. "You think you'd be better at being quiet, yet you never can hush for a second."

"So, are you going to explain?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

"I guess Ash took it," Scorpius lied, shrugging. Lily rolled her eyes. He leaned forward, pulling her hat down over her eyes and laughed. Lily jerked it back up to see him run out the back door. She laughed and followed him out into the snow. She scooped up a hand full of snow, chasing after him. Her perfect snowball collided with the back of his head.

"Come back here and face me like a man, Scorpius Malfoy," Lily taunted as she dodged Scorpius' attempt to hit her with a snowball. He ducked behind the shed and Lily took off after him. He caught her around the waist as she ran by, pulling her into his arms.

"Thought you'd catch me, eh? And here I caught you," Scorpius teased. Lily laughed with a glint of evil in her eyes. She glanced to the snowball in her hand. Scorpius gave her an almost pleading look. "No, Lils, please."

"Oh," Lily said grinning as she shook her head and crushed the snowball on his head. He laughed as she pulled free and ran off, ducking behind the rubbish bins. She covered her mouth, suppressing the snickers that threatened to give out her location as Scorpius ran by, straight into the path of Albus/Hugo versus Rose/James. Snowballs flew back and forth, Scorpius barely throwing himself down in time to avoid being hit. He glanced up to see Lily running the opposite way and he took chase, tackling her into a soft snow drift.

"I told you, I'd catch you again," he laughed as his scooped up some snow.

"Score, wait," Lily pleaded as she fought a fit of laughter. Scorpius smirked, shaking his head and ground the snow into her hair. She laughed hard, unable to hold it in, ignoring the sensation of her body slightly under his while he piled more and more snow on her head.

"I win," he said. She laughed as she struggled a little under him, scooping up some loose snow and sticking it down the front of his shirt.

"How's that?" she taunted as he jumped up. He laughed as he tried to pull the snow from his shirt.

"That was downright cruel, Lils," he said. He got a hunter's look in his eye. "I think I'm going to have to teach you a lesson."

"Ooh," Lily taunted as she started to crawl away. He jumped, pinning her to the snow and shoved a huge fist full of it down her own shirt.

"Two can play at that game, Lils," he laughed. She giggled, scooping the snow out of her clothes. Lily and he looked up at the sky from their position in the snow, the cold threatening to freeze them. Lily glanced at the house, thankful they were mostly hidden behind the shed again. She rolled to her side, her body close to his.

"I was thinking," Lily said quietly as her fingers toyed with the buttons on his jacket. She watched her bare fingers, her gloves shoved deep in her coat pocket. Scorpius looked at her face, his features soft as she bit her lip and continued to trace and finger the buttons.

"Yeah?" he murmured, his voice a little deeper than she expected. Her eyes immediately snapped to his, both of their faces were rosy from the cold so she couldn't tell if he was blushing or not. Her fingers touched his cheek, traced his mouth gently before he reached up, brushing her lips with his thumb. He pulled her against him, there in the snow, their mouths meeting roughly. Their icy hands cradled each others' faces. Lily felt his mouth leave hers to travel along the edge of her jaw.

"I…" Lily murmured as his mouth went to her ear.

"It's too cold out here," Scorpius breathed.

"Inside?" Lily barely whispered.

"Yes," he murmured. She pulled away reluctantly. They hesitated before they headed inside. Ginny, Molly Weasley, and Hermione were at the table, sipping coffee, as Scorpius and Lily began undressing from their snow gear.

"Shoes, off, socks off," Ginny said as she barely looked up. "I don't want any of you getting sick. All wet clothes off."

"The sweater is lovely, Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius said as his fingers again touched the silver serpent on the front of his sweater. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, dear," Grandmother Weasley said.

"I'll put them in the dryer," Ginny offered. "You two need to get into dry clothes and get some hot chocolate in you."

Lily sipped her hot chocolate, holding the cup with one hand as she pulled her socks off and threw them in the laundry basket. She stripped down to her jeans and tank top. She waved at the women and Scorpius, heading upstairs gulping the hot drink as she headed to her room to change into dry clothes. She pulled on sweat pants and a tee shirt, pulling the shirt into place just moments before Scorpius knocked on the door.

They looked at each other, wordless, before he ran to her, his hair hot and damp from the shower he had just come from. Their mouths collided like the heavens and Earth crashing down, the two of them falling back against Lily's bed. Neither of them thought of anything more than the way they felt in each other's arms and the way they tasted. Lily buried her fingers in his hair, holding him against her as he shifted above her. She grinned, him pulling back slightly. He grinned slightly before he leaned back into her for another kiss.

"I love you," she breathed. He pulled back sharply looking at her.

"Don't say that," he whispered. "It's not fair to hear."

"I don't care," she said.

"I don't deserve your love, Lils," Scorpius groaned as he rolled onto his back. Lily frowned.

"Scorpius! Your dad's here!" Ginny called from the bottom of the stairs. Lily thought about following him but she didn't. Instead she watched him sprint from her room and she felt her face burn with embarrassment. She hadn't planned on confessing that; not with Scorpius still being betrothed to Darla. Lily crossed her arms against her breasts, glaring up at the canopy. She could feel the hot sting of tears and she knew if she started, she'd never be able to stop them.

"Mew?" Asher asked as he nuzzled her neck. He began his obscenely loud purring that usually got him a can of tuna. Sighing, Lily shoved the faux pas from her mind and headed down to the kitchen, Asher in her arms. She nodded slightly at Mr. Malfoy as she scooped some tuna onto a plate and took Asher out to the garage. Lily sat and listened to the adults and Scorpius talking, not really paying attention until she heard her name.

"What?" Lily asked reflexively.

"Malfoy, er, Draco has invited you to spend part of the summer with him and Scorpius at the beach in the islands," Ginny said to her. Lily blushed.

"Oh, well, that's really kind, thank you," Lily said quietly as she looked to Scorpius with confusion. After upstairs' little fiasco, she was certain he couldn't possibly want to spend part of his summer with her.

"Of course, with O.W.L.s coming up, I'm sure Scorpius will be very busy," Hermione said. The adults at the table collectively rolled their eyes and groaned at her response. "A holiday at the beach would be just the thing to decompress."

"I… I will think about it," Lily said hesitantly. She forced a smile. "I'm going to lie down. I think all the snow has zapped me at the moment."

"There's plenty of time to decide," Draco said quietly. He smiled at her, a genuine smile, and Lily nodded once.

"Happy Christmas, Mr. Malfoy," Lily murmured before she headed upstairs alone. She headed into the T.V. room, lying across the couch. She tucked her arm behind her head, staring at the ceiling instead of focusing on the Scottish War film. She fell asleep.

* * *

"Lils, you asleep?" Scorpius asked quietly as his fingers touched her face. She mumbled unintelligibly and rolled over. He chuckled and plopped down on the floor in front of her. She was asleep, anyways, so it wasn't like he was blocking her. He glanced up as James jumped into the spare chair.

"You like her, don't you?" James asked quietly. Scorpius didn't have to ask.

"Yeah," Scorpius said looking away from James and back at the television. The two were silent.

"Please don't hurt her," James whispered. "Because if you do, I'll hurt you."

"Hey, hot cocoa," Rose said pressing a cup into James' hand. She looked at Lily. "Awe, I swear. If I had a baby sister, I swear I'd want her to be just like Lily."

"Take her," James laughed as he watched her head to one of the other chairs. "She's too girly for me, even with Quidditch."

"Eh, she's perfect the way she is," Scorpius said smiling softly as he looked over his shoulder at her. She sighed quietly, turning away from the back of the couch, her arm now dangling over the edge of the couch.

"You'd think so," Rose challenged. She looked at him meaningfully.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"This is not good, Scorpius," Rose reminded him. Scorpius nodded, looking back at the television.

"I know," he said.

"Have you told her about Darla?" James asked quietly.

"Not yet," Scorpius said shaking his head. He took a shuddering breath. "I just want her to have a Happy Christmas, you know?"

"It's been a week since it happened," Rose whispered. Scorpius looked at her, nodding.

"I know," Scorpius said quietly. "I'm going to tell her soon."

"I was surprised that you dad didn't let anything slip," James said quietly. Scorpius nodded slightly as he looked back at Lily, her breaths steady and deep.

"I told him not to say anything," Scorpius said. He wanted to touch her face but he kept his fingers to himself. "He trusts me to handle it properly."

"Funny how it worked out," James said. Scorpius shrugged.

"I'm sad and thankful, all in the same," Scorpius said.

"You know, if it's too hard, Mum and Dad will tell her for you," James said. Scorpius looked at him, shaking his head.

"I'll do it," Scorpius said scowling. "Just not today. Tomorrow, or maybe the next day."

"You wait too long, you run the risk of one her friends telling her," Rose prodded gently.

"How the hell am I supposed to tell her and not hurt her?" Scorpius demanded. His words were barely louder than a growl. "I just promised you I wouldn't hurt her."

"She's going to be upset and hurt no matter who tells her," James reminded him. "I don't think that counts. Plus I meant that I'd get you if you hurt her. This is just her."

"That doesn't make any sense," Scorpius said frowning.

"Yeah, it does," James defended.

"Not really," Rose remarked. James shot a look at her.

"You're supposed to be on my side," James said.

"There are no sides, James," Rose reminded. She looked up as Albus and Hugo bound into the room, grinning from ear to ear.

"Dad's taking us down to the pond to ice skate," Albus said. His hands were behind his back. He stepped up to the back of the couch. "You guys in?"

"Yeah," James and Rose said.

"Sure," Scorpius said. He looked at Lily. "Should we wake her?"

"We've got it covered," Hugo laughed as they dumped fists full of snow on her face. Lily jumped up with a screech, disoriented and pissed.

"Hugo! Albus! I'm going to _kill_ you!" She screamed as she jumped over the back of the couch, poised to kill them. They laughed and bolted out of the television room, her on his feet and running out of the room. Scorpius laughed as he stood up; shaking the snow she had dumped in her swift movements.

"Not much of a morning person still," Rose laughed as she brushed the snow off the sofa. The three prefects headed out of the T.V. room and down the stairs, stopping to admire Lily on top of Hugo, the boy pinned quite firmly to the wooden floor. The adults were still sitting at the table, smirking, having known the boys were up to no good with the snow they had carried in.

"I swear to Merlin and to the Wizengamut that you will pay dearly," Lily said as she slapped Hugo's stomach into a nice strawberry color. She seemed completely oblivious to her parents, aunt, uncle, grandmother, and Mr. Malfoy watching her tortured her cousin. Albus had already been jinxed with a leg-locking curse.

"Lily," Ginny said quietly after Lily abused Albus with the same belly slapping technique. "No underage magic outside of school."

"Uh," Lily said looking up, seeing the group of them watching her quite bemused by her. Her cheeks flushed bright red and she stood quickly, snow melting in her hair. She cleared her throat. "So, what's the plan for the rest of the day?"

"Ice skating at the pond," Harry said with a smirk. Lily forced a smile.

"Sounds like fun," Lily said. "How about ice hockey?"

"Ice hockey?" Draco asked looking at Harry.

"Muggle sport," Harry said. He grinned. "You'll love it."

"You're coming with us?" Scorpius asked frowning at his father.

"Fathers should spend time with their sons," Grandmother Weasley said to Scorpius. Lily had begun to pull their clothes from the drier.

"Wouldn't that apply to Mr. Malfoy taking care of Grandfather Malfoy?" Lily asked innocently. "Is his Dragon Pox any better?"

"Um," Draco said looking at his son. Everyone looked at Scorpius.

"Well, Lucius doesn't _have_ Dragon Pox anymore," Scorpius said. Lily smiled.

"That's good," Lily said as she handed Scorpius his sweater. "I'll be back down in a bit. Don't go and try to leave without me."

"We won't," Harry promised. Scorpius looked at the adults and his classmates.

"I'm going to talk to her later," Scorpius said quickly as he glanced up the stairs. "I just want to wait until the moment is right."

"I told you, if it's too hard we don't have a problem talking to her," Ginny said to Scorpius. Scorpius shook his head.

"It's complicated, that's all," Scorpius said.

"I still think she's too good for you," Ron said crossing his arms. "Too good to be a Slytherin."

"You don't know her, Uncle Ron," Albus said laughing hard. He thought back to her Slytherin prank and laughed harder. "She's downright diabolical."

"Are you talking about me," Lily teased as she bounced down the stairs. She was grinning, Asher on her heels.

"Always," James teased as he rolled his eyes. "I swear. You are so conceited sometimes."

"I learned it from the best, big brother," Lily laughed as she threw her arm around his shoulders. "Come on. I can't wait to whoop you on the ice."

"As clumsy as you are?" Rose snorted. Lily shot her a look.

"I'm not clumsy," Lily frowned. "I just don't know how to break."

"Ok, ok," Harry laughed. "Bundle up and lets all go."

The van was not magically enlarged so it was a tight squeeze. All six kids were piled up in the back most seats, Lily and Rose sitting on the floor of the van not really excited about it. Hermione was tucked in Ron's arms, Draco and Grandmother Weasley sitting next to them in the middle seat. Harry was in the driver's seat while Ginny sat shotgun. Harry started the van, adjusted the mirror.

"Do we have everyone?" He called back.

"Yes," the kids called.

"On the way back, some of you boys are sitting on the floor," Rose threatened. The boys laughed and began discussing Quidditch teams. Lily leaned back against the side of the van, Scorpius and James' feet closest to her. She reached under the seat and pulled out some book, reading it. She glanced up at Scorpius looking at her.

"What?" She hissed at him. Scorpius shook his head, smiling.

"Nothing," he said.

"Oh, ok," Lily laughed, rolling her eyes. She went back to reading the book. She rested her head against Scorpius' knee as she read.

"Oh, is that the new _Day Walker_ book?" Rose hissed at her. Lily looked up, grinning.

"No, I've not gone to get it yet," Lily said. "I'm re-reading the third one, first before I beg Dad to take me to get it."

"_Day Walker_?" Scorpius asked James, confusion on his face. James rolled his eyes.

"Some stupid muggle series," James said shaking his head. "Totally girly. It's definitely not something _our_ kind would read about."

"What's it about?" Scorpius asked.

"Magic," Lily said. Lily glanced at Rose and the two of them started giggling.

"Uh, ok?" Scorpius said.

"It's a muggle book, and it's complete hogwash," Hermione explained to him with a disgusted look on her face. "A few of the kids around the neighborhood got hooked and of course these two got hooked. Trashy, I say. If you want to read about magic, read a text book."

"Mum, you just don't _get_ it," Rose said with an almost exasperated tone to her voice.

"It's not _about_ the magic," Lily confirmed. She looked at Rose, who prompted erupted in a fit of giggles with her.

"I still don't get it," Scorpius said confused. James sighed.

"We don't either," James confessed.

Lily turned back to the page, reading it. Scorpius watched her, saw how she sometimes smiled at the pages, sometimes frowned, and occasionally would hold her breath just to release it in a shuddering manner some pages later. He was amused at her reaction. He wondered what she was thinking as she bit her lip, shifting forward slightly. Her eyes danced along the page.

"Ok, kids, lets pile out and skate up," Harry announced cheerfully as he pulled the van to a stop. Scorpius watched as Lily bent the corner of the page over and tucked the book back under the seat of the van. She struggled to her feet and climbed out of the van after the others. They all put skates on and headed to the empty pond.

"Let me check the thickness first," Ron said knowingly. The kids watched anxiously as he did a few circles on the ice. "It seems pretty good to me. Let's skate."

They all hit the ice, warming up and skating. Scorpius laughed as he realized what they meant by Lily being clumsy. She had no idea how to turn or stop. She was lightening fast, too, but that meant nothing if she couldn't stop. She ended up inside the goal a few times, on her back, laughing. She made a great goalie and the game began: six on six. Lily was pretty good about stopping the goals. The game was called as a few other people arrived to skate. Grandmother Weasley had already apparated back home to nurse Grandpa Weasley and the kids free skated while the adults mingled on the benches, talking.

"Lily, please, be careful," Ginny called as Lily skated past them. She turned to look and wave and knocked Rose over.

"Sorry Rose," Lily said as she climbed back to her feet.

"I'm used to it," Rose said laughing as she rubbed her backside. "I think I'm going to go talk to those guys over there. You should come. Maybe they can teach you how to stop, unlike James who thought that going really, really fast was the only thing you needed to know."

"Hey, what can I say? She's built for speed," James teased.

"I'm not a car," Lily said as she skated away from the two of them.

"Do you want me to teach you to stop?" Scorpius asked as he skated beside her. "Or at least to turn to avoid a collision?"

"Sure," Lily said. She laughed as he grabbed onto her. "But be warned, everyone has tried to teach me and I just can't learn."

"I think I can teach you," Scorpius said. Lily laughed.

"Your funeral," she teased. Scorpius tensed up a second but found his self rushing to the ground before he could do or say anything. Lily had fallen and pulled him down with her.

"Ouch, Lils," he grunted as he climbed back to his feet.

"Sorry," Lily said shrugging sheepishly.

"It's ok," Scorpius said.

He tried his hardest to teach her how to stop and how to turn. He ended up on his back several times, her on her face more than a couple of times, and several swear words grunted. She was frustrated, he could tell, but she continued to smile and get back up. He had to admit, she was trying but for some reason she couldn't get it.

"I'm sorry, Score," Lily groaned as she lie on her back, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's ok," Scorpius said as he helped her up again. He grinned at her, thinking. "I've got an idea. It won't teach you to turn or stop, but at least you'd get to do more than go into a straight line until you crashed."

"I'm game for anything you are suggesting," Lily said as she stood next to him. He grinned, sliding his arm behind her and resting his hand on her hip.

"Let me lead," he said slowly skating in a loop. She laughed as she looked at him.

"This is nice," Lily admitted. She snuggled against him as they did a few laps.

"Yeah, it is," Scorpius said. He glanced over to his father, sitting with her family. He sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Lily asked as she looked to where the adults were. They looked fine.

"Not really," he said as he forced a smile. "I just want to talk to you later, if you don't mind."

"About?" Lily asked. Scorpius' smile waivered slightly.

"My official engagement to Darla," he said. His voice was barely louder than a whisper. Lily closed her eyes for a second as she exhaled.

"Well, we knew this was coming," Lily said forcing a smile. She pulled away after she hugged him and skated away.

"Wait, Lily," Scorpius called. She looked back as she tripped over the toe pick and crashed head first into the ice. He stopped and stooped to help her up. She stood and stomped her foot.

"I'm sick of stuff not working out," Lily snapped. She stomped her foot again and the ice below her foot gave way. She pushed Scorpius hard, knocking him on his back as she fell through the ice. Scorpius yelled in shock as Lily slipped below the ice. He looked away for a second to shout for the adults but they had already seen what had happened. Carefully and quickly they were already on their feet and on their way. Everyone else evacuated the ice.

"We can't get any closer!" Ginny shouted to Scorpius as the ice creaked and groaned underneath them. They were still at least ten feet away from Scorpius, who was still lying down and the quickly icing up hole. Scorpius had to think fast. He jerked off his coat and skates.

"Lily! Lily!" He called panicked as he slid across the ice on his stomach. He reached into the water, the ice burning his flesh as if it was on fire. It stung. He tried to breathe but couldn't. His hands searched the hole, his breath held in his lungs. The water was up to his shoulders practically. He fought the panic in his heart and stomach. "Lily! Please!"

As if answering him, something brushed his fingers. He grabbed at it, missing. Dread welled up in him. How long had it been since she fell under water? A minute? Five? He couldn't be certain. Scorpius pushed forward, his face nearly touching the water that was already turning into slush. His hand brushed against something soft, cold, and familiar, even though logically he couldn't know it. He grabbed it, hard, his fingers numb and half frozen. He pulled hard, not caring at the moment what he was tugging on. He pulled her hand out of the water, slipped his arms around her and pulled her backwards out of the water.

Lily was ice cold, pale, and her lips were blue. She wasn't breathing. Scorpius felt fear well up in his chest. He put his ear to her mouth, listening but he was met with silence. Tears stung his eyes. His arms were numb but he looped them around her and slowly, painfully drug Lily towards the adults. They kept backing up, trying to avoid another ice break. Harry pulled out his wand, glancing at the others. They huddled around him, blocking him from the view of the other skaters.

"Accio," he whispered, pointing the wand at Scorpius and Lily. Both of them slid across the ice into the waiting arms of the adults. Harry scooped Lily up and ran to the van. James had already started it, sitting in the driver's seat. He had the heat blasting. Ginny was on the cell phone with one of the healers from St. Mungo's.

"Strip her down and get her warm and breathing," Ginny commanded, shaking as she relayed the information. "They're sending help but there isn't much time. Get Scorpius in the front seat and warm him up, Draco. He's soaked. He'll go into shock."

Scorpius was numb as his father shoved him into the front seat of the van and jerked off the remaining top layers of clothing. The boy shivered despite the heat blasting from the vents. Draco jerked off his own coat and covered his son, glancing at Harry as the man tore the wet clothes from his frozen daughter's body. Now was not the time for worry of modesty, yet Draco looked away with dread. The child was bluish, her lips and fingers almost purple.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked him, unable to look.

"Harry's trying his best," Draco said in a whispered voice as his eyes fell on the panicked father trying to save his youngest child.

"Dad, I tried to tell her but I didn't get to," Scorpius said shivering violently. "I tried to tell her."

"Right now, don't worry about it," Draco murmured to his son. Draco wrapped his arms around Scorpius as the ambulance pulled into the parking lot by the lake.

"Dad," Scorpius said in a panic. "Dad, I can't lose her. I can't do it."

"Shh, Score," Draco said holding him tighter as the medics rushed to Lily's side, wrapping her in thermal blankets as they continued to do CPR.

"Dad," Scorpius said. "I'm scared I'll never get to tell her that I love her."


	14. Return

A/N: Instead of doing a part four to the Christmas Holiday Chapter, we are going to skip a head a little and go from there. Up until midway through last chapter, the story was pretty much told through Lily's POV, but towards the end of last chapter, it became Scorpius' POV. Don't worry. You won't miss a thing. Enjoy the flashbacks. If this doesn't clear things up, let me know… and if need be I'll rewrite it, but I think it's fantastic. Shorter than the previous, indeed, but still pretty powerful.

Disc.: Just borrowing for my devices.

* * *

Return

He blamed himself. He had waited too long to tell her and he told her during the most inopportune time. He really blamed himself. Scorpius sighed and watched the fire in the heart, the flames dancing merrily yet there was no merriment in the castle. The common room was silent, a few people milling about and giving him the distance that he seemed to need. He really didn't want to be alone, but he couldn't think of anyone he could reach out to. Not yet. Not anymore. His dorm mate, Damon walked it, shaking the snow from his hair.

"Scorpius," he said quickly, tossing his bag down on the chair. The boys quickly embraced. "How are you?"

"I'm hanging in there," Scorpius said as he parted. He sat back down, Damon across from him.

"My parents told me," Damon said shaking his head. "Did you go to the funeral?"

"I couldn't," Scorpius said as he focused on the fire.

"It's going to be weird," Damon murmured as he, too, focused on the fire. "To look to our third years and be one less student."

"Yes," Scorpius said in a choked voice. He looked up at Elena Goyle, the girl walking slowly to him. "It's definitely going to be weird."

_Scorpius had watched as the medics scooped Lily up in their arms wrapped in what looked like aluminum foil. They laid her on the gurney, one of the medics climbing up on it with her, continuing to do CPR. He had admitted, he had always been curious to what Lily looked like, as any teenage boy would be, but his mind couldn't focus on her as a young woman or sexually or anything. He just saw her blue and cold and dead under the skillful hands of the medic._

_"Dad?" Scorpius asked in horror. A second set of medics arrived and started checking Scorpius out._

_"They're doing everything they can," Draco assured him as the doors slammed on the back of the first ambulance and sped away with Lily and Harry inside._

_"I don't want her to die," Scorpius said as his breaths became quicker._

_"Of course not," Draco said looking at his son. The medic put an oxygen mask on Scorpius' face._

_"Son, we need to calm down and breathe for us," the medic told him. Scorpius fought the mask for a moment as the medic wrapped him in the same thermal blanket that Lily had been wrapped in. Draco climbed into the back of the ambulance to ride with Scorpius to St. Mungo's hospital._

_Draco was brought in through the emergency department what seemed like seconds later. He was barely waiting a moment before the healers whisked him back to a bed and started a hot saline I.V. on him. He warmed up quickly from the inside and was finally allowed to take the oxygen off his face. Draco was on his cell phone, whispering as he paced back and forth._

_"Dad?" Scorpius asked anxiously as he felt sleep overcoming him like a wave. Draco looked up at him, holding him off with a gesture, and continued to pace the small room. Scorpius rested his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes, exhaustion overcoming him._

_He woke some hours later, though he couldn't be sure. He was alone at first, or so he thought. A quiet snore drew his attention to a sleeping form in a chair, hidden in the shadows. Scorpius was sure it wasn't his father, the way the man slouched in the chair. He looked at the spot where his I.V. was, a darkening bruise spreading form the entry point. It stung._

_"Hello?" Scorpius whispered. The figure stirred and a scruffy looking Harry opened his eyes, leaning forward._

_"Hey, Scorpius," he said sleepily. "Your dad had to rush back to your grandfather. I told him I'd sit with you."_

_"How's Lily?" Scorpius asked fearfully. An emotion, sadness or pain maybe, flickered across Harry's face._

_"Don't worry about her right now, son," Harry murmured sleepily as the nurse came in to check on Scorpius. She seemed satisfied by his vitals._

_"Good temp, good coloring," she said as she checked his I.V. and nodded. "I imagine you'll be set to leave in a few hours."_

_"What about Lily?" Scorpius asked a little more forcibly. The nurse looked to Harry, who looked exhausted._

_"I'll talk to him," Harry promised her. She nodded and glanced at the wheelchair in the room, a look that didn't go unnoticed by Scorpius. Harry watched her leave before reluctantly looking at Scorpius._

_"What's going on?" Scorpius demanded uncertainly. Harry took a deep, trembling breath._

_"I wanted to wait until your dad returned," Harry said quietly. He took another deep breath._

_"Is she… dead?" Scorpius asked as dread and fear swept over him. Harry looked up at him, pain in his eyes as he looked at Scorpius._

_"The thing you have to remember, Scorpius," Harry said in a shaky voice. "There is the rule of three. You can only be without oxygen for three minutes, in freezing water for three minutes. Lily was under that water for almost ten."_

_"Lily?" Scorpius said in a quivering voice as tears spilled down his face. _

_"Scorpius?" Draco questioned as he re-entered the small room. Scorpius looked at his father, both men with tears in their eyes._

"Scorpius?" Elena asked, pulling Draco out of his thoughts. He looked up at her, a wavering smile on his face. He stood, kissing her on the cheek.

"Elena, how are you?" He asked. She tried to smile but it came off as pained.

"As to be expected, I guess," she said. She looked at him. "And you? How are you? I wasn't surprised to not see you at the funeral. I knew it would be too hard."

"I wanted to go, but I couldn't," Scorpius confessed. She nodded as she sat down next to him. She was crying, tears flowing down her face. She dabbed at them with a handkerchief but the tears were coming too quickly to halt them.

"I know, I understand," Elena said in gasping breaths. The three of them sat silently by the fire as others joined them in silent reflection.

"I can't believe she's gone," Damon said quietly.

"She will be missed," Scorpius said as he rested his hand on Elena's shoulder. She turned to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Her sobs could be heard over the crackle of the fireplace.

"Where are the third years?" Damon asked quietly.

"Professor McGonagall has them in the Great Hall," Scorpius said quietly. "She figured that they'd need a little time to cry it out alone without the rest of us trying to comfort them. They brought in a few professionals."

"I just can't believe she's gone!" Elena wailed loudly. Scorpius pulled her in tighter and squeezed as the portrait opened up. "Life will never be the same."

"No, life will never be the same," Scorpius admitted as he looked up. Kate, the third year came in crying, Shale to her left. Scorpius felt his heart stop for a moment as Lily stepped in behind her. She didn't look up, just allowed Kate to embrace her, tears spilling down her face. Lily's cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with tears.

"I just don't understand," Kate wailed. Lily was talking to her, patting the girl's back. Lily looked at Shale, Tavis, and Zane. She shook her head, the words she said barely louder than a whisper. Scorpius had no chance of hearing it.

Shale and Lily exchanged looks, Lily sighing and nodded. She released Kate to Shale and walked towards the older kids, stopping a good few feet from them. They looked up at her from their chair with sadness and expectation. She cleared her throat slightly.

"Um," Lily said quietly. "Can I please have a pass to take Kate to the hospital wing? Callie and Nina went there immediately but Kate thought she'd be ok. Um, apparently she's not."

"Yeah, sure," Scorpius said as he pulled a pass out of his pocket. He handed it out to her. Lily took it without another word. She looked at Elena.

"I am so sorry for your loss," Lily said barely louder than a whisper. Elena stood, pulling away from Scorpius. She threw her arms around Lily, sobbing. Lily bit her lip and patted the older girl's back like she had patted Kate's. Lily pulled away. "Darla will be missed."

Lily returned and guided a sobbing Kate back out the portrait hole, struggling slightly under the awkwardness of Kate's weight. Scorpius watched for a minute wondering if he should follow. The house elves served dinner in the common room, shoving the thoughts from his mind. Dinner was subdued and everyone went to bed early. Scorpius relieved Elena from her prefect duties and instead went to do his rounds alone.

"James," Scorpius said as he passed the Gryffindor prefect.

"Hey, Scorpius," James said. He touched the boy's sleeve, stopping him. "I heard about your grandfather. I know things were kind of crazy, but I'm still sorry for your loss."

"Dragon Pox killed a lot of people this holiday," Scorpius said quietly. James nodded.

"Darla," he confirmed. "Is Lily still mad you didn't tell her the minute you found out?"

"She's barely talking to me," Scorpius said frowning. "She's not making it obvious, but she's so different."

"She'll come around," James said hopefully. "She had a rough time there."

"I know," Scorpius said as James started to walk away.

_Scorpius was afraid to look at her, yet he knew he had to or be haunted by that blue, lifeless version of Lily he saw whisked away. He was sitting in a wheelchair, though his legs worked perfectly well. Lily was still, motionless on the bed. A light was on behind her, as if glowing from behind her head. The first thing he noticed was the deep, rosy color of her mouth. He had known that mouth inside and out, he loved that mouth. It was closed, and though no one had said anything, he knew it was a good sign to see it any color other than the blue purple he had last seen._

_He let out a rush of breath, a great release. She was alive. It was all that mattered to him. The rest was unimportant. She could have been a vegetable for the rest of her life, he wouldn't care. He loved her and he planned on telling her everything now. Right now. Draco rested his hand on Scorpius' shoulder, lowering his mouth to his son's ear._

_"They don't know if there will be any effects to her being under water for so long until she wakes up," Draco told him. "The healers are being cautious."_

_"Can I touch her?" Scorpius asked. Draco looked to Harry who nodded. Scorpius was wheeled closer to Lily's bedside, his fingers suddenly afraid of touching her. She looked so fragile laying there. She had a tube in her mouth her rose colored lips surrounding it, tape slightly, pouring oxygen into her lungs. Her left hand had an IV in it like his hand had, the dark purple bruise covering the entire back of the hand._

_"The IV is a little hard on you guys because the temperature of the saline is higher than normal body temperature, and it is pushed quickly to ensure that it warms quickly," Draco explained to Scorpius. Scorpius reached out, not sure what to expect when his fingers touched her fingers._

_"She's warm," he said in surprise as he looked to the two men._

_"Her temperature is actually higher than normal," Harry said as he brushed some of Lily's hair from her face. He was standing on her other side, protective of his youngest child. _

_"She has a fever?" Scorpius asked quickly looking back at her._

_"No," Harry assured him as he stepped towards the door. He jerked his head to Draco, who stepped away. "They just want to keep her a little warmer than normal to see if that will help reverse some of the effects of her long submerge in the water. They are cautiously optimistic."_

_"We're going to run down to get some coffee," Draco told him. Scorpius nodded, not watching them leave. Scorpius was hesitant as he touched her face. He traced her eyes, the shape of her nose. He watched her as he caressed her chin, ran his finger down the side of her neck. He closed his eyes, trying to memorize everything about her, forcing from his mind the sounds of the machines around her._

_Scorpius forced himself to a standing position, towering over her. He smiled at how perfect she looked. Her cheeks were pink, her lips their natural, beautiful hue, as if she had just finished a cherry ice pop. Her eyes were closed; the only thing that looked remote off was the dusty purple hue underneath them. Even her dark, auburn hair looked like it always had. He pressed his eyes closed once again, his fingers on her collar bone. He took a deep breath, leaning forward._

_It seemed to happen so quickly. One minute he was gently pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth the next she was choking and gagging, fighting to pull the tube out of her mouth. Alarms were blaring around her and healers rushed in. One took Scorpius by the shoulders, forcing him back into his wheelchair and rolled him right out the hallway. He didn't have a second to register what happened before Harry and Draco were there by his side._

_"I'd better take him back to his room," Draco said tersely. "Let me know what's up, Harry."_

"Scorpius! Seriously man, you are the hardest person to locate," Damon said as he touched Scorpius' shoulder. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Something wrong?" Scorpius asked with a slight panic in his voice.

"No," Damon said. Realization spread over Damon's face. "Oh, sorry man. I didn't mean to worry or panic you. No, I just wanted to let you know Elena decided to go to bed finally. She's not doing well."

"I imagine not," Scorpius mumbled as he continued to walk. Damon fell into step next to him.

"I don't know how I'd react if my kid sister died of Dragon Pox," Damon said shaking his head. "What a freak thing. I mean, I know like older people and really young people die all the time of it, but Darla was thirteen."

"They say she had an underlying medical problem," Scorpius said quietly. Damon nodded, walking silently.

"What are you going to do?" Damon said.

"Well, by proxy Elena should slip into Darla's roll," Scorpius said quietly. "However, she and I both talked and neither wants a union. With my grandfather passing, he can't enforce the rules."

"That's great," Damon said. Scorpius scowled at him. Damon quickly back peddled. "I mean, it sucks about Darla and your grandfather, of course, but you know, there's a silver lining to this all. You and Lily."

"Yeah, except that she hates me," Scorpius said crossing his arms.

"She doesn't hate you," Damon assured him.

"You didn't see the way she looked at me when I told her about Darla," Scorpius said shaking his head. "You would have thought I killed Darla and confessed it."

"Surely it wasn't that bad," Damon protested.

"You're right," Scorpius said sourly. "It was worse."

_Three days after he was released from St. Mungo's, Scorpius was back. His arms had a bouquet of flowers. He knew he needed to talk to her, see her, even if he hadn't been the one to finally tell her about Darla's passing and the proxy deal with Elena. Scorpius headed into the room, knocking once, and headed in as the medical doctor listened to Lily's back. Her shoulder was resting against his, to steady her. She had been trembling on and off since she woke. The healers thought it would possibly pass in time._

_She glared at Scorpius, angry, as he put the flowers on the counter by the window, her face practically hidden by the doctor's shoulder. The doctor looked at her curiously, having heard the exchange of heart beats. He glanced at Scorpius and smirked, before finishing up with Lily. He draped his stethoscope around his neck._

_"You're doing fabulously, Lily, and it looks like you'll be back home in time to catch the train back to school," he said to Lily._

_"And the coordination problems?" Lily asked quietly. Scorpius froze at the sound of her voice, the warmth flooding over him._

_"I have faith that it will return in time," the doctor said. He wrote down something on a piece of paper and showed it to Lily. Lily's eyes flickered to Scorpius' for a second before returning to the doctor's face. Her face flushed slightly and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth._

_"Non, il n'est pas mon petit ami," Lily replied quietly to the written note. The doctor glanced at Scorpius and grinned._

_"Êtes-vous favorable, parce que je pense qu'il vous aime?" The doctor asked. Lily flushed bright red as she looked at Scorpius who was staring at her with a cocked head._

_"Nous allons à l'école ensemble, c'est tout. Il est un ami," Lily said glancing down at her hands quickly. The doctor chuckled and patted her hands._

_"Ok, ok," he said. "I'll be back in later to check on you. Son, make sure she eats her breakfast, will you?"_

_"Not the eggs," Lily groaned as she glared at the covered dish on the bedside table._

_"Will do," Scorpius said nodding. He watched as the doctor headed out of the room before moving towards the tray. "Ok, let see what they try to pass off as food now a days."_

_"Why are you here?" Lily asked crossly._

_"I'm visiting you," he said looking at her confused. "Oh, look. They gave you eggs after all. And bacon. How about a bite of bacon?"_

_"I don't want any stupid bacon," Lily said tersely. "I want to get the heck out of here. I'm fine."_

_"Your hands are shaking," Scorpius said taking them._

_"They say it'll pass," Lily said frowning._

_"And my dad said that your dad told him that you're not regulating your temperature properly," Scorpius said. Lily pulled her hands away, crossing her arms and pressing her hands hard against her body._

_"You know, they said I can't play Quidditch for the rest of the years?" Lily growled at him angrily. Scorpius sighed and nodded._

_"Yeah, I had heard," Scorpius said._

_"Well, it's crap, you know?" Lily snapped. "I can still knock a bludger like nobody's business."_

_"I don't doubt that," Scorpius said chuckling. Silence stretched between them._

_"Why didn't you tell me about Darla?" Lily demanded suddenly. Scorpius looked up at her, surprised she blurted it out quite like that, breaking the silence that spanned between. Lily glared at him, her arms still crossed._

_"I wanted you to have a nice holiday," Scorpius said quietly. "I didn't want to put a dark cloud over it by telling you that Darla died."_

_"Oh, so it's better to have let me erroneously believe that I was making you CHEAT on her?" Lily snapped at him. "Everyone knew about her in my family but me. How could you do that to me? That whole time, everyone knew and I didn't. And what's worse was that I was there, kissing you and being with you, feeling guilty about the fact that your fiancé was at her home without you, and in reality you should have been grieving her death."_

_"Lily, I didn't want to bring that kind of sadness in your life," Scorpius said._

_"It isn't your place to decide what sadness should or shouldn't be in my life, Scorpius," Lily told him angrily._

_"I wanted to protect you," he said._

_"No, you wanted to be selfish," Lily accused as she glared at him. "You knew I felt guilty about Taryn and Darla, and you let it continue when you could have ended my guilty feelings."_

_"Lily, I didn't think…"_

_"Exactly, you didn't think. So I suffer because of it," Lily snapped. Scorpius looked at her as if she had slapped him across the face. She was glaring and her breathing was shallow, filled with rage. A healer came in, frowning._

_"Is everything ok in here?" she asked as she checked Lily's monitors._

_"Fine," Lily snapped. The healer made a sound of disapproval and shook her head._

_"Honey, you're O2 SATS are not very good right now," she said. "I know you hate it, but you're going to have to put the mask back on for a bit. Son, maybe you should come back some other time until she can calm down."_

_"Ok," Scorpius said as the healer turned on the oxygen and started to fit the mask over Lily's face. Lily jerked it off._

_"Don't bother coming back some other time," Lily told him as she and the healer began to wrestle with whether or not Lily would allow the mask be on her face. Scorpius hesitated at the door, looking back as the healer forced the mask on Lily finally._

_"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he told her. Lily threw a fork at him, Scorpius ducking out of the room just in time to dodge the fork._

"She'll get over it," Damon insisted. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. The two walked along the corridor in silence for a bit more. The big clock chimed eleven and Damon yawned.

"Go ahead," Scorpius said smirking. "I'll be along in a bit."

"Think you could give me a pass?" Damon asked sheepishly. Scorpius laughed and handed him one.

"I doubt anyone's really whole heartedly upholding curfew," Scorpius told him. Still, Damon took the pass and jogged back the way they had come. Scorpius looked up, surprised that he had found himself at the hospital wing. He hesitated as the door swung open. He pulled back into the shadows for a second as Lily walked out the doors. He watched her as she headed towards him and for a second he worried about her knowing he was there. He looked at the dejected look on her face, the sad tears that seemed to threaten to spill. He admired her, even from afar, at the way she held herself together. Even now that she was alone and could afford to cry, she struggled to keep her emotions in check.

Scorpius slipped out from behind her in the shadow and silently followed her. Lily stopped, searching her pockets for something. Scorpius heard what he thought was a whispered swear and Lily continued down the corridor. She passed the hall way that would lead to the dungeons and instead headed towards the astronomy tower. He followed her slowly, not wanting her to find him following her. She broke into a run at the base of the tower, running up the spiral stairs until he heard the door open to the classroom. He hesitated on the outside of the classroom, not sure if he wanted to follow her. If she was meeting someone, he was certain he didn't want to come face to face with that.

Curiosity had Scorpius following her up the stairs regardless, two at a time until he came to the door. He was silent as he slipped into the classroom. He could see her in the exterior part of the room, where the balcony over looked the school grounds. He could remember the last time he was there, with her, and he felt his stomach twist with anticipation. He stealthily slipped onto the balcony. She had her back to him, her elbows resting on the railing, hands covering her face.

"Please, just leave me alone," she whispered the words fainter than the wind. It was snowing, the snow trapping in her hair. He looked to the sky, wondering when the light snow had become more blizzard-like.

"Why are you out here without a coat?" He asked concerned as he stepped toward her. She put her hand up, effectively halting him.

"I need to be alone," she whispered. He wondered why she was whispering but then he saw her shoulders shake slightly. She was crying, and he knew she didn't trust her voice to hide her tears. Scorpius stepped forward, pulling her up in his arms. She tried to push him away.

"No, Lily, listen," Scorpius told her kindly as he lowered his mouth to her ear. He kept his voice low as he spoke to her. "It's ok if you want to hate me or be angry at me. I was wrong to keep it from you, and selfish. I didn't want to you to be sad while I was with you because I loved every moment we shared. But you can't be out here with a coat. You can't get careless or sick or hurt just to spite me."

"I…" Lily breathed with her hands on her face. Scorpius pulled her closer, his arms wrapped around her.

"It's ok to cry, Lily. You don't have to be strong," Scorpius said to her. She tried to push him away again but he held onto her. "Shh, it's ok to be sad. I'll hold you together so you don't have to hold yourself together anymore."

"It's not that," Lily wailed loudly as she pushed against him.

"Then what is it, Lils," Scorpius asked as he pressed his cheek against hers, the salty dampness almost icy on her flesh.

"I'm a horrible person!" Lily cried as she tried to turn away from him. "I was _glad_."

"G-glad?" Scorpius stuttered uncertainly. Lily finally broke free of his arms.

"Yes," Lily hissed at him as she crossed back to the railing. She kept her back to him. She struggled to form the words. He could see her gripping onto the icy railing with her bare fingers.

"Why were you glad? About what?" Scorpius asked carefully as he stepped a foot closer to her.

"She was such a nasty, mean spirited girl," Lily said distastefully. "When my dad told me she was dead, I was glad because she was the one thing I hated the most about being a Slytherin. I am not a nasty, mean spirited person and she was the embodiment of it. I felt she got what she deserved."

"Lily…" Scorpius said unable to hide his surprise in her outburst.

"I immediately felt bad about it. No one deserves to die," Lily immediately countered. She looked at him, her face damp from the tears that seemed to torrent down her face. She brushed them away with her bare hands. "What _kind_ of person does that make _me_, to be _glad_ my dorm mate died?"

"Lily," Scorpius said as he stepped forward. He took out a handkerchief and held it out to her.

"Oh, I'm not _done_," Lily moaned quietly as she took it and began mopping up her face. "When I overheard your dad tell mine that your grandfather died and that your union was unenforceable, I was even _happier_. I was _done_ of the snotty bitch and didn't have to worry about your evil, loathsome grandfather."

"Lily!" Scorpius said sharply in shock. She looked at him, sadness in her eyes.

"_I told you!_ I told you I needed to be alone!" Lily accused him as he looked at her. He looked at her as she bit her bottom lip. "I _told _you I am a horrible person!"

"Wait, Lily," Scorpius said. She pushed past him and headed back inside. He thought about chasing after her. He hadn't expected her to ever say anything like that. He had never experienced a person being glad that another person was dead, not when the deceased hadn't really done anything to them. Sighing, he headed after her. He had waited long enough, and he knew he'd have to sprint fast if he wanted to catch up with her. He caught her in the common room, so he knew she'd not shout any more.

"Let go of my wrist, Scorpius," Lily told him as he tightened his grip on her.

"I'm not done talking," Scorpius said.

"I tried to tell you that I needed to be by myself," Lily said through gritted teeth. "Why can't you listen to me?"

"You made me feel bad about not telling you about Darla, and all that time," Scorpius growled. "All that time I was feeling bad about not telling you, you were secretly happy she was gone. Do you know how bad _I_ felt that I had kept it from you?"

"I feel bad enough about it, you needn't remind me," Lily moaned softly as she tried to twist away.

"I can't believe you'd keep that from me," Scorpius said frowning at her.

"Well," Lily said finally pulling free. She reached up to her the back of neck and released the clasp of her necklace. Scorpius looked the locket he had given her in disbelief.

"W-what are you doing?" Scorpius asked uncertainly, his face pained.

"What I should have done ages ago," Lily said with her jaw still clenched. "I'm finished with you, Scorpius. You were _never_ meant to be with me. Malfoys and Potters just don't mix."

"Wait, Lily," Scorpius said quickly as he realized what she was doing. "Please, wait a second. Let's talk about this."

"No," Lily said shaking her head. She threw the locket at his feet when she realized that he had no intention of making this easy on her. She turned around and stomped away, slamming the third year dormitory door so loud it cause a few people to sleepily poke their heads out the doors.

"Go back to bed," Scorpius barked angrily as he glared at the locket. The heads quickly disappeared back behind their doors. He drew his foot up swiftly and before he could think about what he was doing, he slammed his foot down on it hard. The sound of shattering metal and glass echoed in the silence of the night.


	15. Melody

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I am without internet at home, which gave me plenty of time to write today. So much so, I wrote… chapter 15, 16, and 17… so, without further ado… here is chapter 15… I'll head back here in a few days to post the next chapter and to read/respond to reviews… the faster you review, the faster I release insert evil laugh… don't worry if you don't like this chapter… they do get a little more interesting… very much more so… more evil laughter… thanks to all of you who read and review. Cookies and juice boxes for all. (PS, I didn't proof this one because I didn't think to and I am short on time, so excuse the errors).

Disc.: I am only borrowing for my own devices.

* * *

Melody

It was warmer, already, the snow having started to melt. Tiny springs of new grass had started to emerge through the shallow patches of slushy snow. It was staying lighter longer, the air no longer biting cold and bitter. Flecks of color had started to appear in the trees as flowers budded and leaves sprung forth. The slightly warmer air, though while still cool, had the students bubbling with excitement for the day they'd be able to toss aside their coats and winter gear. They wanted nothing more than to be able to sprint through the school grounds. They had been cooped up inside for far too long and they were feeling a bit of cabin fever.

"Where are you off to?" Shale asked as he looked up from his book. Kate glanced up, frowning, as Lily tucked her chair back under the table.

"Hopefully not that secret boyfriend that's having you missing class and ditching your friends," Kate grumbled. Lily shot her a look but turned back to Shale.

"Quidditch practice," Lily said quietly. "Flint still wants me practicing, even if I'm banned from playing. He wants to make sure that I can make the team next year."

"How's the replacement beater working?" Kate asked as Lily straightened her papers and tucked them in her notebook.

"Griffon? I guess he's ok," Lily said shrugging in a noncommittal way. "He's no Flint, for sure, but he's a fair beater."

"We'll see you back in the common room before we all leave for Hogsmead?" Kate asked. Lily forced a smile and nodded.

"Sure," Lily said as she slung the straps to her back pack over her shoulder. "I'll try to be there."

"Remember, this is the last one before we all floo home for Easter," Shale called loudly. Madame Pince scowled at him from her circulation desk. Lily waved, not turning back to look at him. She headed out of the school and down to the pitch, her backpack still in hand. She tugged on the back band of her under amour, the matching set of under Quidditch wear. She found it restricting, just slightly, and quite annoying that she still was suiting up as if they'd let her play. She was thankful for Flint, who understood she was not cleared to play but continued to insist she practice. She used it as a time to heal and strengthen herself.

"Hey, Lily," Damon said as she walked in the locker room. She grinned.

"Hey, Damon," she said as she passed him. She went to her locker, opening the door. Her equipment was laying neatly inside and she hung her back pack up on the hook. She took her jacket off, mindful that her hand trembled slightly. She hung it up, loosening her tie and removed it.

"So, the weather's pretty terrific today," Damon said as he leaned against the locker next to her. She grinned at him slightly as she removed her shirt.

"Yeah, it really is," Lily said as she pulled on her Quidditch robes. She caught a flicker of something in his face. "What?"

"Nothing," he lied as he smiled.

"There's a variable wind south, south west," Lily said ignoring him. "Sun's not too bright, which is good."

"Yeah," he said. Lily jerked off her skirt and pulled on her Quidditch pants before sitting down and fastening her protective gear. She held out her wrists to him, wordless, and Damon began to fasten the Velcro.

"Thanks," Lily said. "I never can manage to get them tight enough for comfort."

"So, are you going to Hogsmead after practice?" Damon asked uncomfortably. Lily pursed her lips together for a second.

"If you're asking if I'll meet up with Scorpius, then the answer is no, sorry," Lily said. Damon's eyes went a little wide and he shook his head.

"No, actually, and please don't laugh, I was wondering if you would like to hang out," Damon said with his face slightly flushed.

"Hang out?" Lily asked as she pulled her shoes on.

"Yeah," Damon said scratching the back of his head and looking away nervously.

"You mean with you?" Lily asked skeptically. Damon's eyes flicked to her and he blushed slightly.

"Well, yeah," he said as he smiled slightly.

"Like a date?" Lily asked as she stood and pulled her hair up in a rubber band, it had finally grown to shoulder length and she was able to tie it back.

"Well," Damon said as he flushed a little redder. He saw that Lily was starting to pull back slightly from the prospect of a date with him. "I mean, we could if you wanted to, be just as friends."

"No, um," Lily said grinning at his sudden shyness. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Damon asked confused.

"I'd love to hang out with you," Lily said grinning. She leaned forward slightly. "If I manage to survive Quidditch practice."

"You're doing fine," Damon said quickly, reassuring her. "Your aim's been a bit off but you're doing fine."

"You're too kind," Lily groaned as she slammed her locker. She didn't even register the fact that Scorpius had been but five feet away as she walked out of the locker room with Damon. Scorpius closed his eyes for a second, his fist clenched. When he agreed to Damon asking Lily out, he never in a million years assumed she'd agree.

"_Stupid_," Scorpius berated himself as he slammed his own locker and stormed out of the locker room. He headed across the pitch to see Lily actually laughing and it felt as if someone had tore him apart, but not in a bad way. He hadn't seen her smile or laugh, aside from a fleeting, forced smiled, since January. He realized he missed it. He missed her.

"Ok," Flint said as he paced back and forth. Lily looked at Flint, a smile playing on her lips as he spoke. "Next Tuesday is our second game against Gryffindor. We want to make sure that we don't to give away any more points that ultimately have to be surrendered. I want hard formation, alright?"

"Ok," the team replied. Flint blew his whistle, sending them into the air.

"Potter, Malfoy," Flint called. Scorpius felt his frown deepen when Flint said their names so closely together. Lily was very graceful at the way she pulled to a stop in front of Flint. Scorpius stopped next to her.

"Yeah?" Scorpius said dully. Lily and Flint both shot him a look.

"I want you two to work together today," Flint said. "I want Lily to get a bit more work out in the defense of an actually chaser, to make her ready for Tuesday's game."

"Wait, what?" Scorpius asked. He looked at Flint. "She's not supposed to play for the rest of the season. Doctor's orders."

"Let me worry about that," Flint said as he flew off. Scorpius looked at Lily, taking her arm in his hand.

"Lily, what are you doing? Did you agree to this?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked down at his hand on her arm and pulled away.

"Look, I've seen a specialist who thinks I'm ready," Lily said. "I've already sat out the Hufflepuff game, which we lost. Griffon is a joke. He's terrible. I have to play otherwise Ravenclaw or Gryffindor could end up ruining our lead."

"But Lily," Scorpius said. Lily shook her head.

"FLINT!" Lily yelled shrilly over the pitch. Flint headed back over to her.

"Yes, Potter?" he said with an almost exasperated tone to his voice.

"Pair me up with someone else," Lily told him. She wasn't asking. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I think you'd be best to practice covering Scorpius," Flint said in a no-nonsense way. Lily crossed her arms and Flint flew very close to her, blocking her from the view of Scorpius and the rest of the pitch. He spoke to her, his words undetectable even with Scorpius trying to hear them.

"FINE!" Lily snapped. She took the bat from her left hand, her normal hand, and moved it to her right hand. She glared at Flint, who was chuckling as he flew off.

"You could hurt yourself," Scorpius said to her. She shot him a dirty look.

"Go do your job, Malfoy, and let me do mine," she said as she waited. Scorpius could see that he wasn't going to win this one and he joined in the game, Lily covering him. Flint made a point of hitting the bludgers as hard as he could at Scorpius, assuring that Lily had to not only hit them away, but to aim for other players. Scorpius was uncertain by the two of them, their almost violent exchange of bludgers, the sound of ball and bat cracking over the pitch while the others continued to score. It was hard not to see the heat between the two of them, the pure hatred that seemed to unite ball and bat over and over again, no matter where they were.

Scorpius had to admit, even right handedly, Lily was good. All the practices and one on one that she had been participating in seemed to have done her game wonders. Still, he wondered why she was using her right hand instead of her much more dominant left. The game continued until the snitch was captured and they were released. Lily knocked one back at Flint for good measure, though much softer, and the captain caught and crated the ball.

"Lily," Flint called as Lily started to walk towards the locker room with the others. She turned back and joined Flint. Scorpius hesitated. "She'll be along to talk strategy in a bit, Malfoy."

Scorpius headed into the locker room, pulling his gear off and shoving it in his locker rather roughly. He jerked his uniform off, shoving it in the laundry cart adding his pants. He glanced up, near the door it swung open and Lily plowed right into him. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and he could smell her, his stomach clenching painfully. She smelled like that damn love potion. He swore and jerked away from her, his body felt as if it was on fire from the close proximity of their bodies. She exhaled in a shaky breath and moved away from him, without even so much as a word of apology.

Lily jerked her locker open, ignoring the others as she pulled off her gear and throwing it in her locker wordlessly. Damon approached her and she put a hand up to stop him from saying anything. She jerked her uniform off, leaving it hanging on her locker door and grabbed her shower bag. She brushed past him wordlessly and headed into the girl's shower. Damon looked at Scorpius confused. Scorpius shrugged and shook his head.

Scorpius took his time in the shower, being the last guy out of the shower. He dressed and headed back to his locker. He stopped as he saw Lily sitting on the bench, partially dressed. Her back was to him. He frowned and took his own seat, his back to her. They finished up in silence, not even looking at each other. Damon reentered the locker room nodding once at Scorpius in greeting.

"Hey, Lily," Damon said. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," Lily said though she sounded like she was being dragged off to do something she didn't really want to do.

"Do you want to come?" Damon asked Scorpius. Lily and Scorpius both looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Me?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah," Damon said as he slipped his arm around Lily's shoulders to keep her from bolting, which she looked like she was about to do for a second. She laughed as she pulled away and jerked her tee shirt on over her head.

"How many tee shirts are you going to wear?" Scorpius asked suddenly. Lily and Damon looked at him as if he was a bit crazy.

"I only have the one tee shirt on," Lily said frowning. "The other one is practically underwear. No, actually, it is underwear; it's an undershirt. We don't all fall out of bed fully dressed and ready for the day."

"Yeah, right," Damon snorted as he shook with laughter and walked away. "I'll be outside."

"Be right there," Scorpius and Lily both said at the same time. They looked at each other, heat rising to Lily's cheeks. She pulled her jacket on, gathering up her uniform.

"Scorpius," Lily said as she looked up to see him starting to walk away. He stopped, hesitating with his hand on the door. He turned to look at her.

"Yeah?" He said. She took a deep breath and gestured for him to return to her and her locker. Scorpius walked cautiously back towards her, standing with the bench between them. He was less than a foot away, his hair still damp. He could smell his shampoo and the scent of her, warm and intoxicating. It took everything in him to not try and kiss her right there.

"I think you should take this back," Lily said as she reached back into her locker and pulled out his scarf. "It's just easier if I don't have any memories of us from that time."

"I don't want it," he said coldly. She held it out to him, a dejected look on her face.

"Well, I want mine back," she said firmly. He looked at her face, her bottom lip pinned between her teeth as she looked at him. She was trembling slightly, though he wasn't sure if it was fear or emotion, or if she had been fooling Flint into thinking she was better when she really wasn't.

"Tough," Scorpius said coolly.

"Tough?" she said smirking. He was disarmed by the way she seemed to be fighting a smile. He realized he wanted to see her smile again, at him. It had been months and he realized he really missed it. Everything else was just details.

"Yeah, tough," Scorpius said as he moved around the side of the bench to stand next to her, causing her to turn and look at him, her locker to her side now. "Maybe I don't want mine back, and maybe I don't want to give yours back either. I stole it fair and square from you, Lily."

"I knew it!" She said poking him in the chest with her finger. "I knew you stole it from me."

"In my defense, you left it on my bed," Scorpius said. He cheered internally. This was the closest thing to a real conversation that they have had since the night he broke the locket. He cringed internally at that memory.

"You told me Ash took it," Lily said. Scorpius grinned.

"Maybe she did, maybe she didn't," Scorpius said. Lily laughed in spite of herself. Scorpius loved the way it sounded. It left too quickly.

"I wish you'd take it," Lily said sobering slightly.

"What will you give me if I take it?" Scorpius asked. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and she put her hands on her hips.

"So, to get you to _take_ something from me, I have to _give_ you something?" Lily asked shaking her head. Scorpius grinned and took the initiative.

"Nothing big, just some time," he said.

"Time?" Lily asked as confusion entered her eyes. He nodded once.

"A date, you and me," he said. Lily stepped back, the scarf in her hand.

"You know, I'll pass," she mumbled and shoved the item into her locker. She closed the locker door, not looking at him.

"Is it really that bad?" Scorpius said frowning at her. She looked at him.

"To go on a date with you? Yeah, it is," she said simply and she bolted out of the locker room before he could say anything at all. He slowly followed, disappointed. He had thought that things were going well enough until that. Damon and Lily were standing there, waiting and Scorpius dared to look at her. She didn't look any different, nor did any indication of their previous conversation play on her face. She was listening as Damon talked to her about Quidditch.

The three sat some time later in the Three Broomsticks, drinking butter beer and talking. Scorpius found her interesting and spent a good amount of time watching her over the rim of his glass. She wasn't sitting as close to Damon as she had Taryn that time they'd all come out together. She kept her hands to herself, too, but it looked almost as if she struggled to keep them busy. She hadn't ever been one to touch people randomly, but she seemed to struggle with some sort of inside want. She kept alternating between touching her collar and the small stack of napkins on the table. She had shredded two paper napkins into very small confetti by the time that Damon left to use the loo.

"Are you nervous about being with Damon?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked up at him as if he had shouted the question instead of simply speaking it.

"Merlin, no. Why?" Lily asked.

"You've torn up those napkins as if they did some sort of great injustice to you," he told her. She glanced down at the napkins and blushed as she swept them into her hand. She emptied them into a new napkin, balling it up to keep them from escaping. The two of them sat in awkward silence for a bit before Scorpius cleared his throat. Lily looked up at him. "So, you and Damon are on a date?"

"No," Lily said frowning. "Not that it is any of your business. We're just hanging out."

"Do you want to date him, Lils?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked up from her hands, a smirk on her face.

"I'm… sort of already _seeing _someone," Lily said hesitantly. Scorpius couldn't hide the surprise in his face.

"You are?" he asked. Lily nodded. "Is it someone I know?"

"Yeah, sort of. You know of him," she said quietly. Scorpius couldn't hide the hurt on his face so he stood.

"I'm… I think I'm going to go use the bathroom," Scorpius mumbled. Lily nodded as her fingers touched her collar again as he walked towards the bathroom.

Scorpius was surprised to find Damon reading a magazine, sitting on the counter of the restroom. He groaned internally. Chalk it up to Damon to try and get them back together. He looked up at Scorpius, frowning at the scowl that seemed to be plastered on his face.

"Is it not going well?" Damon asked. Scorpius crossed his arms.

"Did you know she was dating someone already?" Scorpius asked. Damon twitched slightly.

"I had heard… _rumors_… but I don't think it's serious," Damon said.

"What makes you think she'd choose me over this other bloke?" Scorpius demanded. Damon shrugged.

"You guys are good for each other," Damon said. "I figured you guys needed a fighting chance."

"But she's dating someone," Scorpius said. Damon nodded.

"How great could this guy possibly be if no one knows who it is," Damon challenged. "So far all we have are these rumors whispered that she's seeing someone. No one knows where they started nor have anyone actually ever seen her out with anyone. She doesn't seem to have time to actually date, so I figure it was possible that the rumors are just rumors."

"She doesn't want to date me," Scorpius said. "She and I, like she said, don't mix."

"You two are so blind," Damon snorted as he flipped the page. "She's still crazy about you and the number of times she comes up in your speech, either you are crazy about her or you really love talking about flowers."

"I don't talk about her," Scorpius said blushing.

"I didn't want to say anything," Damon said as his cheeks turned a little pink. "However, I think this is one of those times I have to break the code of not speaking about guy issues. You kind of talk in your sleep. Not very loud, usually, but enough that I have heard."

"I don't talk in my sleep," Scorpius retorted as his face turned bright red.

"Um, ok," Damon said. He looked away.

"What do I talk about?" Scorpius sighed.

"Her," Damon said. He closed his magazine and jumped up off the counter and stood next to him. "Look, you and I are best friends, and you have to know that I would never go against you, but you do talk, and going by what you talk about, you are still crazy in love with Lily Potter. If it wasn't for you, I'd date her myself, so I know you have to be insane to not want to do everything in your power to get her back."

"Well, she doesn't want me back," Scorpius said crossing his arms.

"I doubt that," Damon said shaking his head. "Well, she may not be aware of it yet. Speaking of, we've been gone so long we'd better get back."

Scorpius and Damon exited the restroom and their eyes landed on Lily at the same time. Flint was standing in front of her, talking to her. She was still, listening as he talked. Neither Scorpius nor Damon could hear what was being said and they started walking towards the two of them. Lily glanced over at Scorpius for a second before her mouth moved to say something to Flint. He stopped talking and looked at the two of them.

"Wonder what's up?" Damon wondered aloud as they walked closer to the table.

"Damon, I hate to do this," Lily said quietly as she stood. "I'm going to have to cut our date short. Flint needs me."

"Flint?" Damon asked frowning.

"I want to make sure we can get in a bit more one on one practice," Flint said as he stood there. His words were casual but there was an undercurrent to the way he spoke them. Damon and Scorpius looked at each other for a moment.

"Oh, ok," Damon said smiling. "Do you want us to come along and help?"

"No!" Flint and Lily both said at once, a little loud. The other two were startled by their response. Flint went back to looking cool.

"Enjoy your afternoon," he said. "There's no need for you to give up your afternoon for her. It's nothing I can't handle alone."

"It's easier to work one on one without an audience," Lily added casually as she picked up her drink. She finished it and started digging around her bag for some money. Flint was faster and tossed some up on the table.

"See you back at school," Flint said as he placed his hand on Lily's upper arm and lead her away. Damon and Scorpius watched them leave and then looked at each other.

"What in heck just happened there?" Damon demanded as they took their seats. Scorpius shrugged and looked at the door confused.

"I have no idea!" Scorpius said.

"We should follow them," Damon said as he fished out a few more coins to cover the rest.

"Follow them? Why?" Scorpius asked.

"Something's just not right," Damon said crossing his arms.

"I am not about to get in trouble for following Flint and Lily," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "They seemed pretty adamant that they do not want our help."

"And that doesn't strike you as odd?" Damon pressed.

"Well, yeah," Scorpius said. He shook his head. "I am going to regret this. Let's go."

Scorpius and Damon didn't know where to look, and it was by chance that they were on the lane that led to the Shrieking Shack. The two walked the path slowly as the heard music wafting down faintly from the house. The two looked at each other as they picked up the pace, slipping undetected between the barbed wire fence. They peaked in the murky, dusty windows, unable to see anything. Not seeing any way around it, they headed inside silently as they followed the music.

In the back of the house was a perfectly clean room, devoid of dust. They heard the slow music hit a sour note and a male whispered a swear word. Damon and Scorpius slipped toward the room, sneaking in the door. Flint was sitting with his back to the door at a giant piano that's cleanliness alone was enough to make it look out of place. Lily sat next to him. She had removed her jacket and sat in her jeans and tee shirt.

"I'm never going to get this," Flint said gruffly as he slammed his fists down on the piano. Lily placed her hand on his back, rubbing it gently.

"You're doing wonderful, Malvo. You've only been practicing for two months," Lily said. Flint grunted.

"You play," he said. "It always calms me down." She laughed and nodded as he slid off the bench. Scorpius and Damon backed up out of sight quickly but watched as Flint sat in a chair near the piano. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

"What do you want me to play?" Lily asked him quietly.

"Anything," he groaned. "Anything at all."

Lily placed her fingers on the keys, letting them dance along in a familiar pattern. Scorpius listened, trying to place where he had heard that song before. It seemed so familiar. He held his breath as her fingers danced along the keys. The song was familiar, but more ornate sounding on the piano. His mind removed the fancier tones and listened to the melody. It was the song from the music the locket played. He felt his chest contract painfully and he bolted out of the house. Damon was on his heels.

"Scorpius! Wait up man," Damon called.

"I can't," Scorpius shot back at him. "I know how to fix this."

"Someone was here," Lily murmured as she saw the shuffled footprints in the dust on the floor. Flint looked down.

"How can you be sure? Those could be our footprints," Flint said. Lily shook her head. She could smell the faint, fading scent of someone else in the hall, something painfully familiar.

"I just know," Lily said. She felt Flint's hand on her shoulder.

"Well, you know, I'm ok," Flint said as he looked at her. "I think the rumors are well placed enough to give people ideas."

"Yeah," Lily said nodding. She looked at him. "I guess there's only one more thing to do, right?"

"If you think you're ready for that," he said.

"It's going to be… _resisted_," she reminded him. He grinned at her.

"I leave here forever in a few months, Lily," Flint reminded her. "You are the one that still has four more years here."

"Yeah," Lily nodded. "But only two of them with Scorpius here, so I think I can manage."

"You know, he's not such a bad guy," Flint said nudging her shoulder with his. She growled at him, which caused him to laugh. "Ok, fine. We won't talk about him. You do realize that people are going to talk."

"Let them," Lily said.

"You are always going to have people questioning you," he told her.

"About Quidditch? I don't care," Lily said.

"You know, I'll only go along with this as long as it remains a ruse," Flint told her finally. "If either of us steps out of that, I will end it."

"I know," Lily said as she stepped away from him. "But like I said, I'm done with it all. Until I'm grown, at least."

"That, my dear, I doubt," Flint said as he took her hand and started leading her out of the shack. "So then we're settled."

"Yeah, we're settled," Lily said. She tilted her head back to look up at him.

"Four years is a big difference in age," Flint reminded her as he cupped her face. Lily half smiled at him.

"Until next week when it's five years," Lily laughed. He grinned and kissed her.


	16. Cakey Goodness

A/N: Thanks to the reviewers. You make it worthwhile, and while this does seem a little less likely… maybe… there is a point to this chapter… and… just trust me. At least the chapters are fairly long, right? Right? Right!

Disc.: Plot yes, characters no.

* * *

Cakey Goodness

He had heard the rumors and had seen them together around school, but still every time Scorpius saw Lily and Flint together, it hit him like the first time. He could feel his heart crack and breaking each time. He nearly threw up that first time he saw them kissing. Even though he had missed their first public kiss, he had not been spared coming around the bend of a hallway to see Lily gathered up against Flint, their mouths together. It took all he could not to punch Flint in the face. They were ridiculously mismatched, Lily being so small and light and Flint being as big as he was. She weighed next to nothing as he scooped her up against him.

"Oh," Damon had said as he skidded to a stop next to the frozen Scorpius. They both couldn't look away.

"I… guess we know who she's been seeing," Scorpius said in a rather dead sounding voice. He turned and went back the way he had come.

Lily sat in the stands, cheering for her team as they played against Gryffindor on Tuesday's game. She had not been able to pass the doctor's assessment and was benched for good for things that weren't being spoken of, much to everyone's surprise. She had been disappointed and spent Monday trying to convince everyone to let her play. She even tried to talk Scorpius into pulling strings but he was feeling less than hospitable towards her and had walked away from her mid-sentence. He had hoped she would follow but she didn't. Instead, she had pouted for much of Tuesday morning, but couldn't suppress her grin as Malvo Flint kissed her forehead and took his seat next to her at breakfast.

_Malvo, being a seventh year, dating Lily, a third year student, brought up a lot of gossip. Even the professors were not immune to gossiping and making speculations about the nature of the two's relationship. Scorpius would listen reluctantly to the whispers. So, it was not a surprise when he was jacked up against the wall by James._

_"What the hell?" Scorpius said angrily._

_"Why the hell is she with him?" James demanded. "I had a hard enough time understand why she was with you, but this… this I can't even begin to wrap my mind around."_

_"I don't know," Scorpius growled. "You think I like this any more than you do?"_

_"He's too old for her," James said angrily._

_"I agree," Scorpius said with his teeth clenched. _

_"You told me that you would never hurt her," James reminded him angrily. "I want you take that back. I want you to hurt her, by hurting him. Anything to get him and her broken up."_

_"He's the captain of my team," Scorpius countered. "Not to mention that he's older and larger than me. It'd be suicide."_

_"I'm willing to risk it," James said. Scorpius laughed pushing James' hands off his shirt. James laughed too before getting serious again. "Isn't she worth it?"_

_"Yes," Scorpius said. "But if she's happy, really happy with Malvo Flint, who are we to take that happiness, even if we want to."_

_"He's too damn old for her," James snarled. "Half a decade almost."_

_"She'll be fourteen soon," Scorpius reminded._

_"Not until the end of summer," James said. "And still, I think you are too old for her but it's a heck of a lot better than Flint."_

_"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Scorpius said._

_"Well, for one, quit pretending that it doesn't kill you to see them together," James said. "We can all see through that brave front shit you've been pulling, except for her. Maybe if she knew you actually care for her, she'll come to her senses."_

_"She'll never come to her senses," Scorpius scowled. "I've tried before to get her to understand that none of the bad stuff matters. I want to be with her."_

_"Well, work harder, try harder," James said. He lowered his voice as a professor walked by, eying the two prefects talking in the corridor. "Look, I know what goes through our minds when we're with a girl. I can only imagine that at his age, they don't have the inexperience that holds them back."_

_"You're… talking about… sex, aren't you?" Scorpius clarified softly. James went a little pale._

_"I don't want to think about it," James moaned. Scorpius shook his head._

_"She wouldn't, you don't think?" Scorpius asked. James looked even paler and leaned against the wall quickly._

_"I'd hope not," James moaned. He closed his eyes for a second. "Look, I don't want anything bad happening to her. She's my baby sister. I just know that she's really naïve and I'd hate to think that he would take advantage of her. And he will."_

_"You don't know that," Scorpius said. James raised an eyebrow at him._

_"You did. You were her first real kiss, something she wouldn't even do with her boyfriend," James reminded him. Scorpius nodded slightly._

_"Right," Scorpius said in an exhaled breath. "Good point."_

_"So, you have to do something," James practically begged. "I'd rather have you with her over him. At least give him a run for his money, will you?"_

_"I'll try!" Scorpius said frustrated as he stormed away._

Scorpius saw her sitting in the stands with Kate and Shale, cheering as he and the rest of the team took to the skies. She seemed to have gotten over her disappointment of being made to sit out in the game, the way she was going crazy over the team. She, Shale, and Kate were cheering and shouting loudly. He looked at her, his heart swelling as she seemed to be so happy. He decided that at that moment, he would do whatever it took to have her be that happy again around him. He had an idea what he could do it.

"Get your head in the game, Malfoy," Flint shouted at him as he blocked a bludger, sending it racing toward James Potter. "I'll call a time out and replace you if I have to."

"No, I'm good," Scorpius growled at him, pulling his attention off of Lily.

"Good," Flint shouted. "And stay away from Lily." He laughed loudly.

"Not a chance in hell," Scorpius challenged as he flew off. He played hard, scoring goals and dodging the bludgers as best he could. He was clipped by one, but nothing too major. It was a hard game, the Gryffindors hell bent on not losing twice to them in one season. Scorpius wouldn't admit it, because it was impossible to be true, but he could hear Lily above everyone else, cheering them on. In his mind, he changed it a little until she was only cheering for him.

They all played their best.

Unfortunately, Slytherins lost by ten points. The disappointment dripped from the Slytherins as they walked back from the pitch, mirrored in the steady drizzle that had cropped up un-expectantly. Scorpius watched as Lily congratulated her brother and cousin with giant hugs before heading back towards the door of the locker room to wait for Flint. Scorpius passed her slowly, having been put on broom duty.

"Good game, Scorpius," Lily said quietly. She smiled at him, touching his face before she realized what she was doing. She blushed and pulled back. "How's your arm?"

"Good," Scorpius said as her fingers twitched slightly. He pulled his gear off, rolling up his sleeve to show her the slight bruise already forming. "It's not broken or anything."

"That's good," Lily said as she smiled again, her fingers tracing the outline of the bruise. She grinned. "Shame we didn't win."

"Yeah," Scorpius said. He saw her shake the rain out of her hair. "Why not wait for Flint inside?"

"Only players are allowed in the locker room," Lily said. She took a shaky breath. "I'm off the team."

"You are?" Scorpius asked. He hadn't heard anything about it.

"Yeah," Lily said. She frowned. "Even if I could have gotten cleared, I'm failing Herbology. I'm on academic expulsion for the rest of the season."

"How can you be failing Herbology?" Scorpius asked narrowing his eyes. Lily shrugged.

"I stopped going to class," Lily shrugged. Scorpius had been surprised to hear that.

"How about this," Scorpius said mustering his nerve. "I'm not a fan of Herbology, but since there's not going to be any celebrating going on tonight in Slytherin, how about I try to help you get at least a passing grade."

"Ok," Lily said after a second. "Sure. I mean, Professor Longbottom is being really cool about it, if I can make up all the work he won't even tell my parents."

"Sounds like a plan," Scorpius said. "Say we meet in 30 minutes in the library?"

"Sure," Lily said grinning. Scorpius looked up at the sky.

"Come inside before you catch a cold," he said quietly, pulling her in by her hand. "I won't tell."

Scorpius looked away as Flint embraced Lily, his mouth practically crushing hers. Scorpius scrambled away, trying to get ready. He showered and shaved, making sure he looked perfect. He felt silly and foolish as he readied. He was just helping her study, nothing more. He could hear voices quietly arguing in the main locker room and he pressed himself in the shadows as he recognized Lily and Flint's voices.

"Look, Lily, I told you I'd keep it up for as long as the ruse remained intact," Flint said quietly. Scorpius couldn't see either of them.

"I didn't break the ruse, Malvo," Lily said. Her voice was a little thick and Scorpius knew she had either been cry or would be crying soon.

"I know," Flint said quietly.

"I don't understand," Lily said.

"Look, Lily, I did something really stupid, ok? I shouldn't have agreed to this, I should have known better," Flint told her quietly.

"Everything is going great, Malvo, really," Lily said. "Everyone thinks it is true."

"That's the problem, Lily," Flint said frustrated. "I want it to be true."

"What?" Lily asked after a full minute of shocked silence.

"Look, Lily. I told you, I'd pretend to be your boyfriend to keep the guys away from you unless the ruse became less of a ruse," Flint said very quietly. Scorpius had to strain to hear him. "Honestly, I thought that you'd fall for me and I'd have to decide to end it. I never, not once, in a million years have thought that I'd fall for you so completely. You're thirteen years old. I turn eighteen tomorrow. That alone should have knocked some sense in me, kept my feelings at bay. I can't let this continue, Lily."

"But… you said," Lily mumbled.

"I said I'd keep it up until it fell apart," Flint told her quietly.

"You fell for me?" Lily asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," Flint said.

"Why's that so bad?" Lily asked suddenly. It was as if the air had been sucked from the locker room. Even Scorpius could feel it from where he hid.

"Because I know you don't feel the same way," Flint said finally. "You may not see it but you're crazy about someone else."

"I can pretend," Lily offered. "I've been doing great so far."

"What kind of guy would that make me?" Flint said in a cool laughter.

"Malvo, please," Lily said. "Don't break up with me. Wait until the summer."

"No," Flint said.

"Why not?"

"Because, damn it Lily I don't want to pretend to be in love with you," Flint said angrily. He slammed his locker. "I thought I could do it, that's the only reason I let this thing go public in the first place. I told you I did a stupid thing. It wasn't falling in love with you. It was thinking that you'd fall in love with me too."

"H-how long?" Lily asked with a shaky voice.

"How long what?" Flint asked crossly.

"Have you felt this way? How long have you _l-loved_ me?" Lily asked. Her voice was low, a whisper almost, and Scorpius knew she was crying.

"I was attracted to you from day one of Quidditch practice," Flint said regretfully. "Had I not been, I probably wouldn't have even thought of letting you try out. I already wanted you when we won the first game. I was in love with you the day you got hit with the bludger in the game against Ravenclaw."

"Then why did you agree?!" Lily asked him shrilly.

"I thought you might see me the same way I see you," Flint said regretfully. "You pretended well enough, but I could tell it when I kissed you. You're not in love with me. At least not like I am with you."

"Please don't do this," Lily begged.

"If you want, we can tell everyone that you broke up with me," Flint said coldly.

"Malvo, this isn't what I want," Lily said.

"I'm sorry if this is hurting you, Lily," Flint said, his voice warmer. "I never wanted to hurt you. Trust me, for as much as this is hurting you, it's killing me."

"Please," Lily begged again. Scorpius dared to peek. Flint dropped his bag and rushed her, scooping her up in his arms and kissing her heatedly. He pulled away slightly.

"Tell me you felt anything like I feel," he challenged. He looked at her face, seeing what he needed to see. He nodded once, putting her back on her feet. "Don't worry, Lily. You'll survive this, and we'll always have the Shrieking Shack."

"So, that's it then?" she said.

"Yeah," he said as he walked away from her. Flint picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. He looked back at her as he opened the door. "You'll invite me to your wedding, though?"

"You're such a masochist," Lily laughed through her tears.

"You'd better get a move on," he said shrugging. "I hope Malfoy has a better chance than I did."

"It's not like that," Lily said wiping her eyes as she followed him out the door.

Scorpius glanced at his watch. He had ten minutes to get to the library. With the knowledge it was all a ruse, Scorpius felt lighter, like he might actually have a chance with her. He sprinted into the library, Lily glancing up at him. She had tears in her eyes and wiped them away quickly, forcing a smile.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked taking a seat next to her. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said as she pulled open her Herbology text open.

"You don't look ok," Scorpius said. She made a weak face at him.

"Gee, thanks, Malfoy," she said rolling her eyes. "Just what a girl wants to hear."

"No, I meant… _never mind_," Scorpius said frowning. She laughed.

"I know what you meant," Lily said looking away. "So, you really think you can help me out with this Herbology stuff?"

"Yeah," he said as he scooted closer and put his arm on the back of her chair. "After all, I did take it two years ago, if you remember."

"Hmm," Lily said noncommittally as she bent over the book. She and he worked well beyond dinner, trying to get Lily caught up on her course work.

"So, Flint's the reason you were skipping Herbology?" Scorpius asked quietly, keeping his voice a whisper as Madame Pince passed near them.

"It was his free period," Lily replied not looking at him.

"That was pretty dumb of you, Lils," Scorpius said as he leaned closer to her. He pointed at one a line on her parchment. "I don't think pollination fits the sentence about the blooming of Horned-Tip tubers. They don't really have pollen."

"Um," Lily said as she crossed it out.

"Look, I wasn't calling you stupid, just your actions," Scorpius said. "You're really smart and to shirk your responsibilities because of your boyfriend is irresponsible. Especially when he has a duty to make sure that you are becoming the best possible you that you could be."

"No worries there," Lily said biting her lip.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius feigned ignorance.

"We… we kind of broke up," Lily said as her voice shook a little.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Scorpius said. She smiled at him, her eyes filled with tears.

"No you're not," Lily said. "But that's ok."

"No, really Lily," Scorpius said. "I'm sorry you're hurting."

"That's very sweet of you," Lily mumbled after staring at him for a few seconds. She blushed and turned back to her books. "I'm surprised that you don't want to know who broke up with whom."

"I figure you'd tell me if you wanted me to know," Scorpius said casually. He looked at how close his arm was to her, mentally counted the number of movements it would take to go from having his arm on the back of the chair to having her in his arms.

"What?" Lily asked as her eyes found him looking at her.

"Nothing," Scorpius said as a smile crossed his face. Heat crawled up his face and he turned back to her paper. "Finish up that last line so we can go grab dinner."

"Ugh, I don't really want to eat with all those people," Lily said as she picked up her quill and continued to write.

"You have really neat handwriting," Scorpius said after a minute of watching her write.

"Thanks," Lily said.

"I don't think I've ever seen it before," he murmured. She grinned at him.

"Probably not," Lily said. "There's been no reason for you to."

"I'll have to change that," Scorpius commented. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Lily asked. Scorpius shrugged.

"I haven't worked it out yet."

"You'll let me know, though, huh?" Lily smirked. Her stomach growled.

"You don't need to worry about it," he said. "Let's go grab something to eat."

Instead of heading to the Great Hall, Scorpius took Lily by the hand and led her towards the kitchen. Lily didn't resist, just followed him curiously. She had never been in the kitchen, so she was surprised at the warm and bright kitchen filled with house elves and delicious smells. Scorpius pulled her to the table and had her sit down across from her. He figured that he could look at her throughout the meal or try to touch her throughout the meal. With her recent break up not but an hour before, he figured that he'd take things a little more slowly than his body wanted to, and there was no sense in tempting himself.

"I've never been in here before," Lily murmured as overly eager house elves placed plates of food before them.

"Really?" Scorpius said. "I'm surprised your brothers didn't tell you about this. They visit here often."

"The way they eat, I'm not surprised," Lily said laughing.

"Now, you will have to keep it a secret," Scorpius said grinning at her. "We're not technically supposed to be in here."

"Ooh," Lily teased as she started eating.

The meal continued with an easy flow of conversation and Scorpius was silently cheering inside. She didn't seem averse to conversing with him. It was better than he could have ever hoped in a conversation with her. She laughed at his jokes, poked fun of the careful way he cut his meat, and in turn he teased her about the way she dipped her pot roast into her potatoes before eating it. He knew it'd end, the conversation, and he tried to drag it out as long as possible.

"Desert?" Scorpius suggested. Lily looked warily at the piece of cake the house elves had put between them. It was chocolate and looked positively to die for. Scorpius held the silver fork.

"I shouldn't," Lily said as she pushed her hand to her stomach. "I think I've already eaten more than a girl my age should eat."

"The house elves made it especially for you," Scorpius said. He stood and joined her on Lily's side of the table. "One little bite and they'd probably not be _as_ heartbroken about you not eating the cake they made than as if you just walked away."

"Fine, one bite," Lily said rolling her eyes. She held out her hand to him, requesting the fork. He relinquished the fork to her and watched as she took a very small bite.

"Oh, that hardly counts as a taste," Scorpius coughed. He laughed and snatched the fork out of her hand.

"No, I took a bite," she laughed as he speared a huge bite with some fudgy icing. She tried to slide away but her wrapped his arm around her tightly, her laughed as the wrestled a second.

"You don't want the house elves to hurt themselves thinking you didn't like it," he told her as he held her tightly. "Now open up."

"It's too big," she complained as she wiggled around a bit. His grip on her was tight and he knew that he was pressing his luck with her, but he felt pretty assured about this move.

"You'll live," he laughed. She rolled her eyes and took the bite. She chewed and swallowed it down with a huge glass of milk. "Good?"

"You tell me," she said as he released her. She took the fork from him and speared an even bigger bite.

"Lily, that is twice the size I gave you," he laughed as he back up a little along the bench until his back was nearly against the wall. She got a wicked glint in her eye, climbing toward him.

"You'll live," she mocked as she leaned forward, balancing herself by pressing her hand into his thigh. Scorpius felt his body clench at her touch and his heart began to race. She dropped the fork swiftly and grabbed the large piece of cake, shoving in into his face.

"I can't believe you!" he exclaimed laughing as he pinned her to the bench underneath him. "You'll pay for that, Lils."

"No!" She shrieked with laughed as he rubbed his chocolate cake covered face on her face. "Oh, gross! Cake crumbs and fudge, all on my face. This is not very Slytherin of you."

"Maybe not," he chuckled as he let her up. She struggled to a sitting position as a house elf procured a bowl of warm water and wash cloth for them. He took it first, his hands clean. "Let me."

"Mm," Lily replied as she watched Scorpius wring the cloth off. She closed her eyes as he carefully washed her face free of the chocolate cake and icing.

"Perfect," he said as he finished with her hands. He had managed to get all of the stickiness off of her face and hands. She opened her eyes; slightly uncertain what the emotion was that was on Scorpius' face.

"I should reciprocate," Lily said grinning slightly. "I'm just glad you didn't decide to lick it off me."

"Damn, I should have. It'd only be fair," Scorpius teased. He closed his eyes, enjoying the innocent contact between the two of them. It was a few moments before he realized that she had stopped. He opened his eyes to see her staring at him, her blue eyes wide. Lily was biting her bottom lip hard and she looked like she was contemplating something. He hoped it was what he wanted, as well. He wanted to kiss her. Right then and there, he wanted press her up against the bench and kiss her until she was breathless. He smiled at her and stood, increasing the distance between them as he put the bowl on the counter by the sinks.

"It's getting late," Lily said as she glanced at the clock. "You probably have prefect duty."

"I do," he said. "I'll walk you back."

"Thanks for dinner," Lily said as she followed him out of the kitchen. "Sorry about the cake."

"It was fantastic," Scorpius said laughing. "I can't think of a better way to eat cake."

"I doubt you actually ate much of it," Lily teased. She glanced at him quickly. "It was good, though, you were right about that. It was one of the better meal times I've had in a long time."

"I feel the same," Scorpius said as he opened the portrait hole for her. "Sleep well, Lily, and we'll work on more of you Herbology make up work. No more skipping classes, either, or I'll tell your parents myself."

"Ooh, threats," Lily said. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm serious, Lils," Scorpius whispered in her ear. "You're too smart to let one boy ruins your life. Don't let him."

"Mm, okay," Lily breathed her response. He pulled back and smiled.

"Good girl," Scorpius said. "Goodnight and I'll see you at breakfast."

"Goodnight, Score," Lily said smiling at him. She turned and headed into the common room alone. She immediately saw Flint and the memories from early flooded over her. He loved her and he had dumped her. She tried to smile at him but she couldn't convince her body to listen and instead she headed straight to bed. She spent the better part of the night dreaming dreams that she could never admit to having aloud.

Morning couldn't have come quickly enough for her.

"Mew," Asher meowed as he nuzzled her awake. Lily yawned and the cat licked her cheek. She laughed climbing free of her bed. She would join her brothers today and floo home for the long weekend, Wednesday through Monday, for Easter Holiday. She pulled on her favorite jeans and started searching for her favorite shirt.

"Kate, have you seen my blue shirt?" Lily asked. Kate looked up from where she was perched, tying her shoes.

"Haven't seen it," Kate said.

"Man, I can't find it anywhere," Lily said as she peaked under the bed. "Nina, Callie, have either of you seen my shirt?"

"No," the other two said as they began to dress. A knock came to the door and Callie opened it, Lily jerking a shirt over head just in time not to flash the prefects who were knocking, but just barely.

"We just wanted to get a head count of who is floo networking home for the Easter holiday," Elena said as she held a clipboard.

"I am," Lily said raising her hand.

"Me, too," Callie said.

"I'm going home with Shale," Kate said blushing bright red. Lily looked at her, grinning.

"I'm staying here," Nina said dejectedly. "My parents are off Merlin knows where."

"Oh, come home with me," Lily and Callie both said.

"Really?" Nina asked looking at them. "Lily, nothing personal, but I don't think I could think if I was around your cute brother the entire weekend."

"No worries," Lily said grinning. She turned to look at the prefects. "Oh, has anyone reported finding my blue shirt? I can't find it anywhere."

"No," the both said looking at each other and then back at Lily. Lily glanced down at the shirt she had pulled on and laughed.

"Never mind," she said giggling. "I found it."

"Third years, I swear," Elena mumbled as she and Scorpius turned and left the doorway. Lily laughed and closed the door.

"You're nuts," Kate teased. Lily threw a pillow at her and started hunting for her sneakers.

* * *

AN: I know, I don't normally do end notes, and Lily seems to be going through the boys fairly quickly. I promise that there will be a good reason (I hope). Dude... I'm up to 18 or 19 (I forget which)... so trust me. And don't forget to review!!


	17. Easter Holiday

A/N: I have had some thoughts that this needs to pick up the pace, so in a few chapters, we will skip ahead. But for now, things continue on. Thank you to all who read and reviewed. It is greatly appreciated.  
Disc.: Plot is mine. Nothing much else.

* * *

Easter Holiday

Scorpius sat in the middle of his grandmother's large antique dining room. He had spent the better part of his Easter holiday hunched over a million microscopic pieces, all illuminated with a bright light. His posture was ill, the way he bent over the table. He didn't look up as his grandmother entered the room, carrying his lunch. She took a seat near him, placing the plate on the table.

"Scorpius, perhaps a break?" Narcissa suggested as the boy rubbed the back of his neck.

"Gran, I have to fix this," he moaned sleepily.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just buy a new one?" Draco mumbled as he entered the dining room, followed by a house elf carrying his lunch.

"Yeah," Scorpius said grinning at his father. "But this is one of a kind."

"One of a kind?" Draco smirked.

"It belongs to someone special, Draco," Narcissa said as she poured herself some tea. Draco looked at his son.

"Really?" Draco said with that same smirk that Scorpius sometimes gave. Scorpius rolled his eyes and began reconstructing the microscopic pieces. "Is this someone special someone we know?"

"Yeah, probably, Dad," Scorpius said blushing slightly. "I'm hoping by fixing this she'll realize that I want to be fixed between us."

"You know Darla's never coming back," Narcissa said quietly to Draco. "And Scorpius never really loved her. You want what's best for your son, as I did you. It's time, maybe, that he moves on to someone else."

"But he just said that things were broken between them. How could she be worthy of him if they hadn't worked out before hand?" Draco asked frowning. "Who is she, Scorpius? You say I already know her."

"Dad, I don't really want to talk about it," Scorpius said blushing as he continued to move quickly reassembling the pieces.

"She must be very special," Draco murmured. "I'd probably never slave over fixing… _what is that anyways?_"

"It's a locket that plays music," Scorpius said as he glanced at his father. A half smile tugged at Draco's mouth.

"Interesting," Draco said trying to suppress smile.

"Why?" Narcissa asked not catching what was so interesting.

"Well, remember I told you I was having a coworker over for Easter dinner?" Draco reminded his mother.

"I do," Narcissa said nodding. "I've already got the whole menu planned out."

"Well, my co-worker's daughter had a locket that played music," Draco said. "Only when I asked her about it, today in fact when she came to work with her father, did she no longer have it and seemed reluctant to discuss it."

"You didn't," Scorpius asked him warily. His face was ablaze. "You invited the Potters for Easter dinner?"

"Well, this is interesting," Draco laughed as he nodded. Scorpius turned brighter red.

"The locket belongs to the Potter girl?" Narcissa asked looking at the pieces that Scorpius had before him. Scorpius growled some obscenity and turned back to his work.

"So, Scorpius, should I start calling Harry Potter '_brother_'?" Draco asked in a light, teasing manner. Scorpius didn't say anything, just turned even brighter red, and continued to work on the locket.

It was after midnight, hours before everyone was supposed to arrive for Easter dinner that Scorpius finished and restrung the locket on its chain. He ran his finger along the edge and it silently swung open and played the song Lily had played on the piano, the one she had fallen in love with from the locket. He sighed in relief and put the chain around his neck. He nodded off just an hour or two before dawn.

"Mr. Malfoy, wake up," a tiny voice said shaking his shoulders.

"Go away," Scorpius grumbled as he kicked his foot out.

"You should be nicer to your house elves," Lily whispered in his ear, her hands on his shoulders. He opened his eyes as he grabbed her wrists and flipped her up on the bed. He looked down at her, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Lily?" Scorpius asked uncertainly. The room was pretty dark, though his drapes were drawn tight against the windows causing the darkness.

"Good morning to you, too, er, afternoon, really," Lily said. He looked down to see she was breathing a little harder than normal.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"You kind of startled me," Lily admitted. "I didn't expect to be pinned between your bed and you with my hands restrained above my head like this when I agreed to wake you since your house elf has been trying since we got her two hours ago. It's nearly dinner time."

"What time is it?" Scorpius asked. Lily turned her head, laughing.

"Ugh, time for you to go brush your teeth," Lily teased. He let her up immediately.

"Oh, sorry about the morning breath thing," he said. He climbed off the bed, not caring that he was only wearing his boxer shorts. "Stay there, I'll be right back."

"Is… is that my locket?" Lily asked. Scorpius grinned.

"I'll be right back," Scorpius said skipping off to his bathroom. He took a quick shower, knowing full well he should be quick before Lily got it in her mind to head back down stairs. He shaved and brushed his teeth, pulling on his pants and a wife beater on before rejoining her. He blinked at his room, the light insanely bright. His bed was made and the curtains flung open. She was by the window, looking out over the garden.

He stopped and looked at her for a moment, taking her in. She was wearing a blue dress that went just past her knees, black Mary Jane shoes with white socks, and her hair was pinned away from her face. She was kneeling on the window seat, her face practically pressed against the window. She glanced over at him, smiling. He took it as her welcoming him closer and his shoes were silent as he crossed the floor. He pulled his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, rolling them up and ignoring the buttons.

"You have the prettiest garden," Lily told him as she pushed the window open. The air was warm, a gentle breeze ruffling her hair. She rested her hands on the window seal, leaning a little out to let the sun warm her face.

"You like it?" Scorpius asked coming up behind her.

"Yeah," she said. She leaned a little further out the window. Scorpius rested his hands on her hips.

"You're making me nervous," Scorpius admitted.

"Afraid I might fall out the window?" Lily smirked as she looked back at him.

"Kind of," Scorpius said nodding. Lily rolled her eyes and pulled back from the open window.

"I'm a witch," Lily said. "You'd think I'd just fly or something."

"You need a broom," Scorpius reminded her. She laughed and turned so that her back was to the window. She was still kneeling.

"Very true," Lily said. Her fingers went to the lump under his shirt. "So, did you just get another one to torment me?"

"No," Scorpius said as he pulled it out from under his shirt. He stepped away from her, his hands dropping from her waist. "I wouldn't do anything just to torment you. This is yours."

"It can't be," Lily said as he took it off. He held it out to her and she touched it without taking it from him. "I saw it after… that night. It was in like a million pieces."

"More like a billion," he said. She made a face.

"I guess money can fix anything," Lily grumbled.

"Hey, that's not very nice, Lily Potter," Scorpius snapped as he closed his hand on it. "I worked for five days nonstop. I just finished it this morning before dawn."

"I'm sorry," Lily said meeting his eyes. He made a face.

"You shouldn't just assume that because my family is affluent that we don't know the value of hard work," he chastised lightly.

"Really, it was rude of me," Lily mumbled. He grinned.

"Turn around," he told her.

"Going to shove me out the window?" She asked. He laughed.

"If I was going to do that, I wouldn't need your back to me now would I?" Scorpius joked. She stuck her tongue out at him and she stood, turning her back to him.

"Does it work?" she asked him as Scorpius' fingers brushed the skin of her throat. He moved her hair aside and draped the necklace over her head.

"Mhmm," he murmured as he clasped the clasp. He was tempted to kiss her neck but he didn't want to push his luck. One kiss wasn't worth it.

"How does it look?" Lily asked as she turned to look at him. He grinned as he started button up his shirt, his eyes not on her but his buttons.

"It looks great," he said. He hesitated as he carefully picked up the locket, sliding his finger along the crease. It spring open and played the song as clear as before. She grinned and threw her arms around his waist, her face pressing up against his chest.

"Thank you," Lily whispered.

"Please tell me you not crying," Scorpius begged. She laughed, it shaky, and pulled away. She strolled over to his mirror, her fingers on the locket. Scorpius watched her, finally putting the pieces together. Every time he had seen her fiddling with her collar, it was because she missed the locket. Her fingers instinctively sought it out.

"I'm not," she lied as she grinned at his reflection and wiped her eyes. "I'd better go back downstairs before someone thinks I've lost _some_ of my _virtues_ to you."

"Good point," Scorpius said as he laughed. She left him and it took him all his strength not to chase after her and drag her into his bed.

Lily was sitting between her mother and Narcissa, sipping tea, when Scorpius exited the house into the garden. Lily looked up at him, a smile playing on her lips as he ambled over to where his father, Harry, James, and Albus were sitting. They were a little more relaxed looking.

"You grace us with your presence," Draco said laughing.

"_Meh_, I was up late," Scorpius said reflectively as he shrugged.

"He's been working on a little project," Draco explained. Scorpius was afraid that he'd go more into it, but Draco didn't.

"So, didn't you two not get along in school?" Albus asked curiously. "What changed?" Scorpius had obviously interrupted a conversation that had been going on at the table. He took a sip of water as he listened.

"Well," Harry said looking at Draco. "A lot. For one we both grew up."

"I still think it was the war," Draco said. Harry laughed.

"I wasn't going to go for the spectacular reasons," Harry said.

"Yeah, but those are a hell of a lot more interesting than the whole we grew up and matured reasons," Draco said rolling his eyes.

"Plus, once Lily was sorted Slytherin, it was kind of inevitable that we'd at least be cordial," Harry said. "That was the last thing that bridged us."

"Hey, we work together, too," Draco reminded him.

"Yeah, but I try not to think of that place when I'm not there," Harry said groaning. The two of them laughed and the kids rolled their eyes, thinking their fathers were being weird.

"So, Lily, have you thought more on my offer?" Draco asked after the first course arrived for Easter dinner. Lily choked slightly on the ham. Ginny patted Lily's back.

"Offer?" Lily replied as she dipped her bite of ham in her potatoes. Scorpius caught her eye, grinning.

"I have investment properties that I check up on in the islands, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come along with us this summer. Scorpius is usually bored to tears," Draco explained. "So, are you in? Two weeks of sun and surf?"

"S-sure, if it's ok with my parents," Lily said as she looked at her father and mother.

"Fine with us," Harry said. Lily smiled.

"Granted, he'll have to do well on his O.W.L.s," Ginny added. Draco laughed.

"I think Hermione is wearing off on you," Draco said.

The adults continued to talk while the kids stayed silent and ate. Lily glanced up at Scorpius, grinning at him while she made a point of dipping her piece of ham into her potatoes, the very thing he had teased her about. When dinner and desert were served and finished, the adults sat around drinking coffee while the kids went down to the interior garden.

"You know, I don't know if I like the idea of you spending that long of time with my sister," James said casually. Lily laughed and continued to walk ahead of them.

"Please, you'd have to know that it really is the most boring place in the world," Scorpius said rolling his eyes. "I have more fun at your place than traipsing all over the Earth with my father, looking in on his business expenses."

"Just mind your manners around our baby sister," Albus piped up. James and Scorpius laughed.

"Well, you know I'll be respectful," Scorpius said.

"Plus who knows," Lily called from the end of the path. "I may annoy the hell out of him he that he ditches me on the first day and I run off with an island local."

"Yeah," James said raising an eyebrow. "I don't think I like that idea."

"Anyways," Lily laughed as she prodded a statue. She looked up at them walking closer. "Scorpius and I are just friends, right?"

"Right," the three boys said in unison. Lily laughed and ran off to the right out of sight.

"Can't find me!" She challenged playfully as she disappeared around another corner.

"That sounds like a challenge if I ever heard one," James laughed.

"Losers buy the winner drinks at the Hogs Head," Scorpius anted. James shook on it and the three boys headed off into the garden to find her. Scorpius knew the mazes and gardens like the back of his hand, having spent his entire childhood playing in them but James knew Lily's habits just as well, so they were evenly matched.

It was Albus who found her, the two of them tumbling down a small hill and ending up in the muddy pond when he went to grab her. Albus whooped, claiming victory. She pulled herself up sputtering and dripping with mud and slime. She was angry. It was evident in the way she glared at him that she was going to kill him. She dove at Albus, knocking them both back into the murky water just as Scorpius and James turned the corner to see them tumble back into the pond.

"Damn," Scorpius said to James as the two of them approached. "Your mum's going to kill them, isn't she?"

"Yes, probably," James said sighing as he shook his head. "MUM! LILY AND ALBUS ARE FIGHTING!"

"Oh, for MERLIN'S SAKE!" Ginny cried out as she and the other adults joined them at the pond's edge. "Lily Potter, do not drown your brother."

"He pushed me into the pond!" Lily said as she shoved Albus' head under the water. "Scratch that, he tackled me down the hill into the pond."

"Lily, let him up," Harry said. Lily reluctantly let her older brother surface, sputtering. Draco covered his laughter in a false cough.

"I swear, we can't take you anywhere," Ginny snapped.

"I'm sure we can scrounge up some changes of clothes," Narcissa said coolly. She smirked at Lily's feistiness. "Follow me."

"Really, Mrs. Malfoy… er, Narcissa, it's not necessary," Ginny said apologetically. "I can just apparate them home. Merlin knows they don't deserve to remain."

"It's no problem. I can't tell you how many times I'd catch Draco or Scorpius down here, stark naked in the pond catching tad poles," Narcissa said. Lily busted into laughter at the thought, causing everyone to look at her curiously.

"I… just couldn't imagine Scorpius getting… anyways," Lily mumbled, her face red with embarrassment. "Never mind."

Albus was set up in a guest bathroom to shower and to change into a spare set of jeans and a tee shirt. Lily's change of clothes were a little more difficult and Narcissa had sent one of the house elves up to retrieve a change of clothes from the attic where Scorpius' smaller clothes were stored. She stood in Scorpius' personal bathroom, looking around in amazement. His bathroom was the size of her bedroom, though she should have expected it from the size of his bedroom.

"Hope you don't mind wearing boys' clothes," Scorpius said as he entered holding a stack of clothes. I tried to go with the most ambiguous of the choices, black tee shirt, blue jeans. Figured you'd have less of an issue with the whole girly garment thing."

"Um, yeah," Lily said as Scorpius piled the clothes on the long marble counter. He walked over to the showers and turned them on, turning the various knobs and levers.

"Take your time, enjoy," Scorpius mumbled. He pointed to the hamper. "Just dump all the dirty clothes in there and the house elves clean them up."

"Oh, ok," Lily said. She looked at him expectantly and he laughed.

"I can't believe you fell in the pond," Scorpius said shaking his head as he headed out, closing the door firmly behind him. Lily hesitated before heading into the strange, fancy shower. She was in heaven and knew one day, no matter where she lived, she wanted a shower like this one. She was squeaky clean after a minute or two, but spent an insanely long time in the shower. She had used his supplies and could smell him all around her. She hummed as she scrubbed up, the lilting tune from the locket, and smiled.

The jeans fit her well enough and she wondered how old he had to have been to have worn them. She wasn't a fan of being so undressed under her clothes, but she couldn't really see a way around it so she buttoned up the pants and pulled on the shirt, towel drying her hair as she exited the bathroom. Scorpius was there, lounging on his bed with Ash. He was half asleep.

"I thought you drowned in there," he commented as his fingers caressed the cat's fur. "I was going to give you like three more minutes before I went in after you."

"Yeah?" Lily said blushing as she sat on the edge of his bed, the farthest from him. It was then that she noticed his door was wide open and she knew that it must have been to maintain their distance.

"Yeah," he replied as the cat purred. It was as if he was answering her silent question as well as her verbal one.

"How come you don't bring Ash to school with you anymore?" Lily asked as she continued to dry her hair.

"She's old and needs a quiet life to rest," he said. "Plus with Gran being here alone, it's nice to know that they can keep each other company."

"That's very sweet of you," Lily said as she folded the towel. Scorpius shrugged and pushed himself off the bed. He held out his hand and took the towel.

"What can I say?" Scorpius said grinning. He tossed it into the hamper on top of the dirty clothes that were already in there and rejoined her on the bed, keeping his distance. "So, we're you serious when you said you'd run off with a local?"

"You mean on our trip? Only if I annoy the hell out of you," Lily teased. Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I mainly mentioned it to bother and worry James because he acts like I am some child that can't be trusted to make the right decisions for me. He so acts as if I'm too young. Like I can't possibly know what I want out of life, who I'd want to be with."

"Your brother does bring up a really good point," he said quietly. "You and I aren't a great idea. Not right now, not yet."

"I never said we were," Lily said frowning. Her fingers toyed with the necklace.

"Oh, don't even think about giving it back," Scorpius said as he reached across and stopped Lily's hand from traveling to the clasp. She hadn't even been aware she was reaching for it. "I gave it to you for Christmas as a friend, and yeah, I blame myself for blurring those lines, but that it my fault, not yours."

"Oh, Merlin," Lily sighed.

"What?" Scorpius asked at her expression.

"I know what you're doing," Lily said anxiously as she wiggled her toes absent mindedly.

"What am I doing?" Scorpius asked uncertainly.

"You're about to pull the age card, aren't you," Lily mumbled. "I knew it. You got to thinking about how you'll be sixteen soon, and I won't be fourteen until the end of summer and how you feel that three years is such a big difference."

"Well, it is," Scorpius said.

"Not really," Lily grumbled.

"Look, we don't have to talk about it," Scorpius said forcing a smile. "I'm content being friends."

"No you're not," Lily said pushing up off the bed and heading to the door. "You're as delusional as the rest of them."

"Lils, wait," Scorpius said.

"I don't really feel like it, Scorpius," Lily said shaking her head. "I should have known when you had plenty of opportunity to kiss me on multiple occasions and you didn't take it. Granted, I did just break up with Malvo, _but still_… I would have thought you'd of all people want to scoop me up."

"I do like you, Lily," Scorpius said. Lily laughed and forced a pained smile.

"Don't worry about it, Score," Lily said lightly. "You won't always feel the struggle between liking me and my being too young."

"I hope not," Scorpius said. He watched her leave and inside he was kicking himself. He didn't even mean any of that. Hell, he had been thinking of ways to kiss her all day and to get her alone, yet he found himself acting noble and rather mature about it. He didn't want to be mature about it, but something inside of him was holding him back. Guilt, maybe, for hurting her last time although she was just as guilty for that hurt.

He knew he'd have a chance to talk to her at school on Monday evening when they all floo-ed back, so he didn't stress about it when they left. He remained cheerful and light as they all said their good-byes. She hugged him quickly, though he would have loved to have held her a bit longer. She hugged him as if he was nothing more than a friend and parted without the hesitation that he sometimes felt on their partings.

"See you at school," Scorpius said. Lily nodded.

"Yeah," Lily said as she parted with her family. She glanced back at him as if she wanted to say something to him, but didn't.  
"Please tell me you didn't screw things up with her," Narcissa said out of the corner of her mouth as she waved at them.

"What, Gran?" Scorpius asked looking at her.

"That girl is crazy about you," Narcissa said as she patted his shoulder and led him back into the house.

"She's thirteen," Scorpius said. "We're just friends."  
"Those two statements are completely unrelated," Narcissa said as the two of them sat in the drawing room.

"What's unrelated?" Draco queried as he entered and stoked the small fire.

"Lily Potter's age and Lily Potter being Scorpius' friend," Narcissa said smirking. Scorpius groaned.

"You know, your mother was nearly six years younger than me," Draco said casually. "Lily's what thirteen, fourteen?"

"Thirteen," Scorpius mumbled.

"Don't mumble," Narcissa said absentmindedly as she pick up a book that the house elf held for her.

"She's thirteen," Scorpius said a little louder and clearer.

"And you're fifteen," Draco reminded him.

"I'll be sixteen in a bit," Scorpius said. Draco nodded.

"But then she'll be fourteen," Draco said. "I'm not saying you have to do anything you don't want to do, or that she doesn't want to do, but I think age is a poor excuse for why you can't be friends."

"Draco, this isn't about friends," Narcissa reminded him.

"I know, but the idea of anything more is unnerving…" Draco mumbled.

"Don't you start mumbling too," Narcissa said.

"Sorry Mum," Draco said. Scorpius snickered.

"What are you reading, Gran," Scorpius said quickly changing the subject.

"A book Lily recommended," Narcissa said holding up the book. "_Day Walkers_. So far, it's very good."

"Isn't that the muggle book Lily was reading?" Draco asked. "You know, that day of the ice skating incident?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said.

"She mentioned it over tea and I sent Niue out to get it for me," Narcissa said. "She's right, it's quite amusing; a great diversion."

"I've not read them, but James says their kind of girly," Scorpius said. Narcissa laughed.

"You know, before I became your Gran, and Draco's mum, I was a girl," Narcissa said. She looked at her grandson and son, both spitting images of each other with their minor variations. "Shouldn't you be packing your stuff up for your departure tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Scorpius said as he left his father and grandmother. He entered his room and looked around. It looked the same as always but it felt different to him. He could feel her all around him. He could see her at the window, leaning and looking at the grounds below. Scorpius turned and headed into his bathroom, glancing at the hamper knowing that her dirty clothes were in there, mingling with his own clothes. He grinned.

She had stood in his very bathroom, stood naked in his shower, and yes, she was too young for him to have these thoughts about her, but he did none the less. He headed out of the bathroom, lying across the poorly made bed, knowing she had made it for him instead of the house elf. The imperfection of the duvet placement evident, and Scorpius knew that the house elves made the bed military style with exacting perfection. He rested his head on his pillow, staring up at nothing in particular, and thinking. Maybe, just maybe everyone was right. Maybe three years wasn't that big of an age difference.


	18. The Vote

AN: Thanks people. You're doing your part, I'm doing mine. This time around, it's a bit different. I am releasing two chapters back to back. Enjoy, and R/R both. Otherwise chapter 20 will SUCK.

Disc.: Corrupting other people's characters since 2007.

* * *

The Vote

Scorpius looked at Lily sitting in the common room, laughing at something Shale had said. She had her Herbology book spread across her lap, quill in hand, and she was laughing. Scorpius could see her locket around her neck and he felt warmth spread over him, filling him with joy. She looked away from Shale long enough to look up at him. She smiled warmly at him and turned back to Shale. Scorpius stepped closer as Shale placed his hand between Lily's shirt and the locket, looking at it closer.

"Scorpius is an old _friend _of the family," Lily was explaining as Scorpius stepped up behind a row of chairs. Shale looked up at him, his eyebrows raised. She looked at him, a faint smirk on her face. "Isn't that right, Scorpius. We're real good _friends_?"

"Yeah," Scorpius confirmed. Shale snickered, his hand still on the locket.

"Well, it's nice," Shale said as he continued to look at the locket. "I don't know if I'd give just any friend a gift like this."

Lily smiled genuinely, one of her beautifully intense smiles and laughed.

"I must be a very special _friend_, indeed," Lily said looking at Shale. He slowly removed his hand from her, the locket dropping against Lily's shirt. She picked it up, tucking it back into her shirt.

"Did you still want to hit the library for me to help you with your Herbology?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked up from her book.

"Oh, you don't have to put yourself out like that," Lily said sweetly. She smiled and turned back to her books.

"I… I don't mind," Scorpius said. Lily grinned and shook her head.

"Thank you, though, Scorpius," Lily said. "But I already asked Flint if he'd help me with the bit about the Cone-Sprouted Spores."

"Oh," Scorpius said. Lily smiled at him quickly and turned back to her book. Scorpius hesitated a moment before he turned and walked away. He took a seat near Elena and Damon, watching Lily as she chatted with her fellow third year mates, laughing at the boys who seemed bent on cutting up to make her laugh.

"Lily, hey," Flint said as his hand touched her shoulder from behind. She turned and looked up at him, grinning and stood.

"I do appreciate this," Lily said.

"Anything for you," he breathed as the two of them exited the common room.

Lily followed Flint out the portrait hole and to the library in silence. She smiled as he looked behind him at her, his face uncertain. The two found a table out in the open in the library, taking up one side of the table with Lily's books. Flint looked at her again as she pulled out her parchment.

"So, how was your Easter?" Lily asked casually as she begun. Flint looked up from her page to her face. She was smiling at him and he melted.

"It was… ok," he said hesitantly. She looked concerned slightly.

"I'm sorry I missed your birthday," Lily said genuinely. "Did you get the card I sent you?"

"Yeah," he breathed. She grinned.

"Good," she said. She turned back to her paper. She continued to write pausing here and there to check facts. She sighed.

"Maybe… it would be easier to grasp the concepts if you saw them first hand," Flint suggested. Lily looked at him curiously, a half smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well, the seventh year students have free access to the greenhouse," he suggested quietly. A smile spread across her face.

"You mean… like a field trip?" Lily said excitedly.

"Yeah, sure," he said shrugging. She threw her arms around him.

"This is going to help so much," Lily said as she pulled away and started shoving her stuff in her bag. Flint took it from her and carried it as if it was nothing, though it was bursting at the seams with books and papers.

"No problem," Flint said as he led her toward the green house.

"Now, you aren't going to get in trouble, are you?" Lily asked as she followed along merrily.

"Nah," he said as he grinned at her and held the door open. "I'm of age, and I'm tutoring you. I can't be held in contempt for helping out a fellow Slytherin pass Herbology. Plus I doubt that Professor Longbottom would say much against you, to be honest."

"Awe," Lily said grinning.

"So, anyways," Flint said quietly as he led her to one of the bigger, scarier looking plants. "Why'd you ask me for help? I thought Malfoy was helping you out."

"Eh, well," Lily said uncomfortably for a second. "You know how you like me, right?"

"Yeah," Flint said scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. He looked at her reluctantly.

"Well, I like Score, er, Malfoy like you like me," she said uncomfortably. "Only, he seems reluctant to like me back."

"The age thing," Flint said understanding. Lily grinned half heartedly.

"It's the weakest excuse I've ever heard from either of you," Lily said sighing. "I swear. When I'm one hundred, you being a hundred and five, or him being a hundred and three won't make a lick of difference."

"Then, no," Flint agreed. He looked at her. "But with you being thirteen, and barely looking old enough to pull that off, it's weird."

"Super," Lily mumbled. "I don't even look thirteen now? I've been downgraded."

"Maturity, you'd probably be ages older than even me," Flint admitted. "But, honey, you don't look thirteen. I'm sorry, but your size alone screams pre-pubescent."

"I'm growing the best I can," Lily snapped. She closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath before taking another look at him. A new, strained smile was on her face. "Look, I am content with being _friends_ with all of you. One day, you will all look back and realize how silly this all is."

"I don't doubt that," Flint said in a quiet voice. They stared at each other uncomfortably before he took a deep breath and turned his attention to the giant plant. "Should we get started?"

"Yeah," Lily said smiling as she pulled out her diagram, the paper wrinkled and creased. Quill in hand, she turned to Flint with a disarming smile on her face. "Do your worst, Malvo."

"Uh…" Flint said at the undercurrent in her words. She looked away and poked the plant with her finger, the plant raking a set of barbed tentacles across her exposed forearm. Flint jerked her back. "You shouldn't touch the plant, Lils. It bites."

"Now you tell me," Lily complained as she looked at the ragged cuts on her arm.

"Let me see," Flint demanded as she tried to pull her arm away.

"It's just a lot of scratches," she said. He nodded.

"You'll heal fine," he said shaking his head. "Rule number one, don't touch the plants."

"Got it," Lily said grinning and she sat a little further back as Flint started to go over the diagram and prodding the plant with his wand, donning thick dragon hide gloves. He threw a smile at her while he put them on, causing her to laugh.

"Well, are you done there because I'm starved?" Flint said. Lily glanced up, her quill hovering over her page.

"Nearly," she promised. She checked his watch, her fingers on his wrist. "Oh, I didn't realize it was that late, Malvo. Go on ahead and eat. I'll be along and I promise to stay out of the plant's reach."

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm sure," Lily grinned. She stood on the chair, her hands around the back of his neck. She drug his face down to hers, kissing his cheek. "Thanks so much for the help."

"Anything for you," he choked out. Lily grinned and returned to her paper. "I'll see you in the common room, right?"

"Yeah," she said. She winked at him. "Bring me a sandwich."

"Ok, ok," he laughed as he left her sitting in the greenhouse. Lily heard him leave and she sighed, looking at the diagram. She glanced up at the benign looking plant and stuck her tongue out at it. She sighed and turned back to her papers. This was the last assignment that she would have to deal with and then she'd be completely caught up. She would pass and not ever have to tell her parents about skipping class to spend time with Malvo Flint.

Her stomach growled and she frowned. She only needed a few more paragraphs and she'd be done. Lily sighed and continued to write her paper. She cheered at the completion, gathering up the large stack of papers and headed out to find Professor Longbottom. She found him talking with the half-giant, Hagrid. They both looked down at her as she stood there with a grin on her face.

"What brings you out during meal time?" Professor Longbottom asked. Lily grinned and held out a huge, wrinkled stack of paper.

"My make up work, Professor," Lily said quietly.

"That was quicker than I expected," Professor Longbottom said in surprise.

"I'll catch you later, Neville," Hagrid said as he waved himself off and walked away. Professor Longbottom waved and looked over the papers.

"You're a really smart girl, Lily," Professor Longbottom said. "I know your parents would be disappointed to know you chose a boy over your studies, especially when you didn't need to."

"I am sorry, sir," Lily said in what she hoped was a very remorseful voice. He looked at her and nodded.

"I know you are, and I expect that you've learned your lesson," Professor Longbottom said.

"Yes, sir," Lily nodded emphatically. He smiled at her.

"Good, and I'll see you in class tomorrow again, will I not," Professor Longbottom said.

"Yes, of course, sir. Why wouldn't you?" Lily asked surprised. He looked at her, his eye brow raised.

"It's just, I saw you with that Flint boy again, and I thought that…"

"We are together? No, we're just friends," Lily assured him. She forced a smile. "I've learned my lesson."

"Good, good," he said as Lily headed toward the castle.

"See you, Professor," she said waving and breaking into a run to the castle. She glanced back to see she was alone, tripping over a root and nearly falling on her face. She laughed at herself, and regained her footing. She slipped soundless into the front door, and dashed to the Great Hall, slipping into the noisy room. No one looked up as she strolled quickly from the door to her table. She sat down across from Kate. She didn't look up as she started to eat.

"Hungry much?" Kate teased. Lily grinned, her cheeks slightly puffy from the food. Lily chewed a little slower and swallowed.

"I finally finished the last of my paperwork," Lily said. "I'm going to see if I can coax Flint into letting me back on the team."

"Ooh, you think he'd go for it?" Kate asked lowering her voice and throwing a look sideways at the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

"I don't know but I hope so," Lily said. Kate snickered.

"You could always start dating him again," Kate suggested. Lily threw a roll at her, the roll bouncing off her forehead. The girls laughed hysterically, unable to continue the conversation. A few other classmates looked at the two having missed the roll incident. Kate gasped for breath from the laughter as Lily grabbed a new roll and took an insanely large bite from it. Lily grinned, her cheek puffed out again, and Kate lost it, roaring with laughter until she was breathless. Quite a few people looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"Are you ok?" Shale asked Kate concerned. Kate continued to laugh, shaking her head and forcing the tears from her eyes. Shale looked over at Lily concerned.

"Don't mind her," Lily smirked. "She's on a _roll_."

"MERLIN," Kate gasped as she started laughing as Lily shook with her own laughter.

"Girls are so weird!" Shale whispered to Zane loudly. Zane looked over at the two and nodded emphatically.

"Only as weird as boys are," Kate gasped as she started to calm down. Lily snickered and continued to eat.

"Lily, you still going to need that sandwich?" Flint asked as he stood across from her. She looked up and shook her head, waving her hand over her plate.

"I think I've got it covered, thanks," Lily said. She held her hand up to stop him as he turned to leave. "I do want to talk to you though, later."

"About?" Flint asked hesitantly. Kate was making faces at Lily to make her laugh, which caused a smirk to cross Lily's face.

"I just want to talk, that's all," Lily promised. She grinned at him.

"Um, ok," he said uncomfortably. She laughed.

"You act like I'm going to talk to you about something awful or uncomfortable," Lily said as she stood up.

"No, go ahead and finish eating," Flint said alarmed that she was cutting her already short meal shorter. She grinned.

"I want to stay light on my broom," she hinted as she nodded a quick good-bye to a giggling Kate. Flint looked at her a bit confused as the two of them exited the table area, Lily glancing at Scorpius, who was watching her carefully. She smiled at him before turning her attention back to Flint.

Scorpius came across Lily sitting in the common room some time after he had performed his prefect duties. She was sitting in her school uniform, her ankles crossed. Her fingers were toying with the locket and she was deeply engrossed in a book. A slight smile tugged the corner of her mouth for a second before she shifted forward, the smile disappearing and an anxious look crossed her face. Her hand froze and Scorpius realized she was now holding her breath as she read. He watched her curiously until he began to feel anxious himself that she was never going to take another breath. It felt like minutes, but not that much time had passed.

"Lils please take a breath or something," Scorpius breathed. Lily's eyes shot up to him, startled as if he had yelled it instead of barely whispering it, and she took a shaky breath, a half smile gracing her face.

"You scared me," she said.

"I didn't mean to," he promised. "You just stopped breathing."

"I did?" she asked surprised as a faint flush made her cheeks turn pink.

"Yeah," he said. She glanced down at the page, bending the corner over and closing the book.

"It's just intense," Lily said biting her lip. Scorpius glanced at the title and groaned.

"You know my Gran is reading them," Scorpius said. A huge smile spread across Lily's face, her eyes twinkling.

"I bet she loves them," Lily gushed.

"I guess," Scorpius said. He checked his watch. "What are you doing up this late? I thought that you'd be in bed by now."

"I wanted to talk to you," Lily said as she patted the small couch next to her. He looked at her with surprise.

"About?" he asked cautiously. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Why does every one of my _friends_ assume I have bad things to talk to them about?" Lily grumbled half heartedly. She smiled at him and patted the seat next to him. Still, he didn't move. Sighing, Lily placed her book on the table and crossed to Scorpius, taking his hand in hers and pulling him over to the sofa. She gently pushed him to a sitting position and sat down, twisting to look at him.

"Um," he said as Lily gripped his hand in hers looking at him.

"Look, I promise I'm not going to get all weird or anything. I thought about what you said, and you're probably right," Lily smirked. "Maybe three years is too much."

"Lily," Scorpius said. She covered his mouth with her free hand, halting his words.

"Anyways, I am content being your friend, too. Who knows, maybe when I have boy troubles, you can bail me out," Lily teased. Scorpius looked at her darkly and pulled her hand off his mouth. She laughed.

"If that's what you want to talk about, I…"

"Shush, Score, it's not," Lily laughed as she replaced her hand over his mouth. "Look, tomorrow, Malvo is going to ask your vote on something, and I want your support."

"Vote?" Scorpius said through her fingers. She nodded, removing her hand and taking his in her hands. His were so much bigger and stronger looking than hers. She glanced down at them for a minute, realizing that his skin was smooth and perfect.

"Malvo is going to put it up to the team to see if Griffon should be replaced," Lily said looking up at him. She stared at him for a long second before she casually pulled her hands from his. "Professor Longbottom has agreed to take me off of academic expulsion from the Quidditch team."

"Off?" Scorpius said, not really understanding. Lily grinned, placing her hands on Scorpius' shoulders. She moved it close to him, and for a second Scorpius' heart started racing in anticipation. He saw her moisten her lips with her tongue and he realized how much he wanted to kiss her.

"Score," Lily breathed quietly. She applauded herself for this technique, knowing a whispered voice was more likely to be focused on then a yelled one.

"Yeah?" Scorpius barely got out.

"If you vote for me to, I can play in the upcoming Ravenclaw game," Lily told him. "We need to win to still be in the running for the game."

"Quidditch?" Scorpius asked confused. Lily patted his cheek and pulled back.

"You really must be tired," she murmured. She stood and yawn, as she looked at his watch. "And no wonder, it's nearly midnight. Just think about it, will you?"

"Yeah," Scorpius promised.

"It'd really be great to be out there with you guys, flying again," Lily told him. She kissed him, chastely, on his cheek, very close to his mouth. "Good night."

"Good night," he said as he watched her walk away. He looked down, seeing she had left her book on the table. A sly smile crossed his face and he scooped it up thinking he could use it as a way to talk to her some more. He figured it wouldn't hurt to read it, and he was thankful that she was reading the first book again.

* * *

After Easter break, the professors seemed pretty hell bent on murdering their students with work, especially the fifth and seventh year students who had O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, respectively. Lily, Kate, and Shale walked around, giving wide berth to the older students who were increasingly short with everyone, tense and terse in their responses. Every once in a while, one of the older kids would have some sort of fit or emotional breakdown and would snap the heads off of one of the younger kids.

"Merlin, they're mean," Kate whispered after she had been hushed for the second time in two minutes.

"Maybe we should just head outside?" Lily whispered back.

"I really wish you would!" a fifth year shouted across the common room. Lily glared at Celeste, who was frantically rubbing her temples while surrounded by thick books.

"At least it's beautiful out, not that you can tell from this dungeon," Lily quipped loudly, her voice sounding like a shout though it was no louder than normal conversation. She scooped her bag up and stalked out of the common room, followed by Kate and Shale.

"Its' so pretty out here," Kate said as the three headed into the middle of the big grounds. There were large, white clouds in the sky.

"Shale, let us use you as a pillow," Lily begged, her hands clasped in front of her. "That way we won't get grass in our hair."

"I don't know, Kate?" Shale asked hesitantly.

"We broke up ages ago," Kate laughed. "It's not weird for me to be around you, it shouldn't weird for us to lay on you. It's not like our whole bodies will be on you."

"Sure, why not," Shale said. He lay in the grass, his hands behind his head. The two girls giggled and rested their heads on him, Lily on his chest, Kate next to her on his stomach, making a giant people T-shape.

"You must be really excited," Lily teased. "Your heart is running a million miles an hour."

"You tease," Kate said as she rolled on to her side. "Lemme hear."

"Stop it, you two," Shale said blushing. "Otherwise I'll leave you both lying in the grass alone."

"Party pooper," Lily said reaching up and patting his cheek.

"Some friend he's turning out to be," Kate laughed. "Ooh, look! A turtle!"

"That's not a turtle," Lily countered. "That's an alligator."

"Hogwash," Shale mumbled. "Obviously it's a tree."

"How do you figure it's a tree?" Kate and Lily asked.

"The shape, it's too long there and puffy there," Shale said as he point at the shapes. He let his arm fall across the girls, as if he was holding them down like a safety bar on a roller coaster.

"I think," Kate started as she started giggling. "I think it looks like a guy."

"A guy?" Shale and Lily both replied confused. Kate giggled harder, her face red. She whispered what she meant into Lily's ear. Lily turned bright red.

"Nasty!" Lily teased. "You are such a gutter mind!"

"What? What'd she say?" Shale asked.

"Don't tell him!" Kate said laughing as she jumped up and ran off. "Lily, don't tell him!"

"Really want to know?" Lily asked as pushed herself up to look at him.

"Yeah," he said. Lily grinned and moved in position next to him, her mouth by his ear and his arm around her shoulders.

"She thinks," Lily whispered in his ear. "She thinks it looks like a male body part."

"A… _member_?" Shale said. Lily grinned and nodded. The two of them rested back against the grass and looked at it. "Yeah, I can see where she'd say that."

"I wouldn't know," Lily laughed.

"You want me to share with you?" teased Shale. Lily shook her head.

"No, not particularly," she said. "When did you get so bold?"

"Eh, it came with puberty, I suppose," Shale said. Lily laughed. "You'll see if you ever hit puberty."

"Jerk," Lily said punching him lightly in the shoulder. He laughed. "You know, for one of my best friends, you are unkind sometimes."

"Chalk that up to being a fourteen year old boy, I guess," he said shrugging. The two were quiet for a few moments. He pointed at a blob. "That one looks like a boob."

"As if you'd know what a boob looked like," Lily snorted. Shale's face went serious for a second his fingers to her buttons.

"You could show me," Shale said. Lily looked at him in surprise and he laughed. "Come on, haven't you ever played 'Show me yours, I'll show you mine'?"

"No," Lily said as she started to draw away from him.

"I wasn't serious, Lils," Shale promised as he pulled his hands away from her. She still moved and sat up next to him.

"I just want to make sure I'm not blurring any lines between us," Lily said. "We are friends, right?"

"Of course," he said.

"And you'd be ok with that remaining nothing more, right?" Lily asked.

"Not everyone wants to date you, Lily," Shale teased. Lily smirked.

"Good to know," she laughed.

"Now, tuck your hot little body up against me, and let's continue to get rumors started," Shale laughed.

"No, dude," Lily said shaking her head. "It's lunch time and I'm starved. Plus we have like two weeks left of school. I don't want to waste it on my back, looking at the clouds."

"Great," Shale muttered. "Lying out with me is a waste?"

"Awe, you know I didn't mean that," Lily laughed as she stood. She reached out her hand. Shale sat up and pouted.

"You're so mean. I swear," Shale said crossing his arms.

"Awe, I'm not mean," Lily taunted. She laughed and wrestled one of his hands free. "Come eat lunch with me."

"I really shouldn't," Shale said.

"Awe, don't make me beg, Shay," Lily teased as she pulled on his hand.

"I don't know, begging would be fun to see," Shale laughed as he stood. He rolled his eyes. "You think your boyfriend, Scorpius would mind?"

"Scorpius and I are just friends," Lily laughed as she continued to pull him to the castle by his hand.

"They've decided yet?" Shale asked suddenly.

"I find out tonight if they voted for me to reclaim my position and play the two final games," Lily said suddenly nervous.

"How do you think it'll go?" Shale asked as he squeezed her hand.

"I… I'm not sure," Lily said hesitantly. "I really screwed up big time and I can't blame them if they decide to keep Griffon."

"For what it's worth, you a hell of a better player than he is," Shale said. Lily looked up at him.

"Thanks, Shale," Lily said as she let his hand drop from hers and headed into the Great Hall for dinner.

* * *

Lily looked at Scorpius as he called to her across the hall. He was on his way to his exams, looking rather tired and withdrawn. They had passed on giving her an answer the previous night, for which she understood, and she was surprised to find him chasing her down on her way to class. She smiled slightly, looking at him worried.

"Have you been sleeping, Score?" Lily asked concerned.

"Yeah," he mumbled. He stifled a yawn and she looked at him skeptically. "Well, as best as I can, y'know?"

"I hope that you'll get some serious rest this summer," she said. He looked at her warily.

"Are you backing out of staying with me?" He asked suddenly anxious. A smile spread across her face.

"Are you kidding? Lily said as she stepped closer. "I am so thrilled I don't have to hang around my brothers at home all summer."

"That's good," he said in a quick sigh of relief.

"Did you need something?" Lily asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, sorry," he said. "The team has made the decision to allow you back for one of the two games."

"It's only fair," Lily said smiling. He looked at her uncertainly.

"You're taking this well," he said. Lily grinned.

"Would you rather my cry and throw myself into your arms for comfort?" Lily laughed. Scorpius didn't reply and Lily stopped laughing. A smile crossed her face slyly. She stepped closer, her body quite near his. "Sometimes, it sucks being just friends, doesn't it? Makes you embrace the times when physicality is a probability."

"Yeah," Scorpius said swallowing nervously.

"Thanks for the news," Lily said brightly as she stepped away. "Good luck with your exams. I don't want to keep you."

And he watched her skip away, and he felt a pull like he had never experienced before in his life. Damon, looking as stressed and tired as he did, walked up beside him. He placed his hand on the other boy's shoulder, startling Scorpius from his trance like gaze, Lily long since disappeared from sight.

"How's being friends going?" Damon teased.

"Shut up," Scorpius scowled as they pushed their way into the Great Hall for exams.

"Dude, don't get pissy with me because you're too stupid to face the facts that you LOVE her," Damon laughed as he ducked from Scorpius' swing and ran to find his desk.

"Stupid git doesn't know what he's talking about," Scorpius grumbled. He closed his eyes for a second, her smiling face flashed in his mind and he smiled, warm and secure. He jerked open his eyes and scowled at the grinning Damon. "Damn him."


	19. Summer

AN: Oh, this chapter might be a _little_… inappropriate for younger viewers in the beginning. Readers discretion is advised. Remember to read and review both, since this is a duel chapter release (i.e., both 18 and 19 were released at the same time).

Disc.: Borrow, not own.

* * *

Summer

Scorpius was lazily sitting on the bench in the locker room, staring at his open locker. He closed his eyes, a bit tired at the moment and thinking he'd rather take a nap than to play Quidditch at the moment. His house was so far behind in points, there was no chance in hell of them pulling out of third. The idea was to keep from being last, anything to be ahead of Gryffindor. He felt cool hands cover his eyes, and he fought a grin as a mouth pressed against the side of his neck.

"Happy Birthday," she whispered as her tongue flicked over his now burning flesh. He turned to see Lily standing there, wearing just her button up school shirt. Most of the buttons were undone and he knew it would take but a moment to remove the rest.

"Lily?" he said uncertainly as she sat down on the bench next to him. Her hands cradled his face and she kissed him, her mouth encouraging the beast from with to purr with delight. His stomach clenched as she jerked his shirt off over his head. He didn't bother with her buttons, instead he tore her shirt from her. She pressed herself so firmly against him that he knew he'd not stop this, even if he wanted to, he couldn't. They were breathing hard, her fingers tugging at his pants.

"I want you," she breathed. "_Now_."

"Ok," he replied as she kissed him harder. He couldn't believe it. He was going to do it, he was going to go all the way with her and he couldn't think of a single reason why he shouldn't. He wanted her like no one before her. He couldn't look at her, pull his eyes from her face. She was perfect and lovely. He wanted to mark her as his own and claim her for life.

"Scorpius, I never want to leave you," she said as their flesh burned between them.

"Scorpius?" another voice said. He frowned. Not now, not when things were so good. Why now?

"Go _away_," he whispered.

"Wake up, Scorpius," Damon said shaking his shoulder. Scorpius reluctantly opened his eyes.

"_What now_, West?" Scorpius growled.

"Look, you have got to shut the hell up, ok?" Damon whispered. "It's just_… indecent_, ok?"

"_God_," Scorpius said forcing himself up into a sitting position. His face was on fire. "I was _talking _again, wasn't I?"

"Not just talking," Damon muttered. Another fifth year boy snickered.

"Perfect," Scorpius mumbled. "Great."

"Look, man we, you and I, are best friends," Damon said as he retreated to his own bed. "But if you ever have a dream about me that has that kind of response from you, I forbid you to ever tell me about it."

"Shut up," Scorpius said throwing a book at him.

"I think you dropped your book," Damon teased as he threw it back. Scorpius caught it, tossing it on the bed next to him.

"What day is it?" Scorpius asked.

"Very, very, very early morning on Thursday," Damon said.

"Well the dream was right about one thing," Scorpius said as he let his head hit the pillow. "Today is my birthday."

"Well, here's to hoping Lily gives that kind of present for your birthday," Damon yawned. "But I highly doubt it. You've buried her so far into the friends' zone I doubt she'll ever be able to dig her way out."

"Shut up," Scorpius snarled.

"Go to sleep, will you?" one of their dorm mates growled sleepily.

Lily's birthday wishes for him later that morning were nothing like the ones he'd dreamed about, and while incredibly unrealistic given their state of friendship, he still had hoped that she would. He could say he was disappointed by it, though. She greeted him with a giant grin and gave him hug, tucking her head against his chest.

"Happy Birthday, Score," Lily said as she tilted her head back to look at him for a second before pulling away. "How does it feel to be the ripe old age of sixteen?"

"When you say it like that, it makes me feel downright _old_," Scorpius said sourly as she increased the distance between them.

"Well, at least you get to go home now, huh?" Lily smirked. "Your birthday gift from Hogwarts, the last day of school."

"Yeah, yeah," Scorpius said rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday," Lily said. She held out a small package.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Scorpius said hesitantly. Lily smiled.

"It's not like I spent any money on it," Lily said dismissively as he took it. She turned and started to walk away.

"Aren't you going to watch me open it?" Scorpius asked. Lily glanced over her shoulder and smiled.

"You're a big boy," Lily said. "You can manage it. Plus, I don't want to miss out on getting bacon, you know."

"Quidditch season's over with," Scorpius called to her as she disappeared through the portrait hole. He yawned as he took a seat and tore the paper back from the small, flat package. He looked at it, confused.

"What cha got there?" Damon asked as he stumbled from the dormitory.

"My birthday gift from Lily," Scorpius said quietly. Damon looked at it and smiled.

"Well, _hell_… isn't that _cute_," Damon teased. "Is that from when you were staying with the Potters over Christmas?"

"Must have been," Scorpius said. "Though I don't recall many pictures being taken."

"Dude, she's totally crazy about you," Damon said as he looked down of the framed picture of Lily and Scorpius. They were sitting near the tree, looking at each other, Lily's hand on his shoulder, her placed behind him so he had to twist slightly to look at her. Scorpius could picture it as if it had just happened. She had whispered to him about her grandmother making the sweaters. She was smiling, and he could see that she liked him. How many times had they kissed that holiday?

He was supposed to be doing his prefect duties, but Scorpius couldn't focus. Lily was monopolizing on his thought. It was only out done by the fact that he turned the corner to find her lounging in a compartment, the door open. She was alone for the moment, her ankles crossed and up on the seat. Asher was walking up and down her body while she slept. Her face was pressed up against the back of the seat and she was asleep.

"Lily?" Scorpius said as he looked at her sleeping, thinking she was absolutely perfect. He felt the train slowing and knew that it was nearly time to start gathering belongings. He dared to touch her face, cupping her cheek, and the dream from the early hours flooded his mind.

"Scorpius?" Lily murmured as she yawned. She swung her legs around, standing as the train lurched on its stop. Scorpius grabbed her to keep her tumbling to the floor. She smiled at him as she looked up at him.

"Careful there," he said laughing. "Can't have you getting hurt just days before our little trip, can we?"

"No, no we can't," Lily said. For a second, they both could tell what they wanted and what the other wanted, just from the looks they were giving each other. Lily broke free and scooped up Asher, putting the reluctant fur ball in his basket.

"So, I guess we'll see each other soon," Scorpius said as she gathered her belongings.

"Soon," Lily replied as she joined the others in queue. "See you then."

* * *

Lily looked at her mother, her fingers drumming on the wooden table impatiently. Ginny was going over the last details of Lily's departure with her. Lily sighed and held up the various documents to show Ginny that she had them. Lily was hardly in the mood to show her mother the passport again, but she complied, holding it up before she tucked it back into her purse. Ginny sighed and looked at the two suitcases standing erect at the door.

"Mum, I've been away from home before," Lily said exasperatedly as her mother gave her the once over.

"This is different," Ginny explained. "This isn't you going off to school."

"I'll be with the Malfoys," Lily reassured her. Ginny reflexively made a face.

"Sorry, honey," Ginny apologized when Lily made a face. "I admit I hold prejudice, and I know I shouldn't. A lot has changed in the twenty-some-odd years."

"Mrs. Malfoy is going to be picking me up any minute," Lily said glancing at the clock on the wall. "I'm going to be safe and behave myself."

"Promise me you'll call if you want to come home," Ginny said as the door bell chimed.

"I'll call you," Lily promised.

Narcissa Malfoy looked as if she had just walked out of an elegant magazine. She smiled at Ginny and looked at the two suitcases Lily had packed and her back pack. She sat with Ginny, drinking tea, and assuring Ginny that she was accompanying Draco and Scorpius, as Lily's chaperone, and that she should feel at ease. Narcissa ran over Lily's documents with her quickly before she grabbed one of Lily's suitcases. She looked at Lily, her face kind and barely telling of her true age.

"Ready for an adventure?" Narcissa asked Lily.

"Yes ma'am," Lily said as she hugged and kissed her mother good bye.

Lily was in awe of Narcissa and her driving skills. She owned a sporty silver car that Narcissa had called a little diversion to her Grandmotherly ways. Lily had laughed at that as she sat next to the stylish woman, wondering if she'd ever grow up to be such an elegant and imposing woman. Lily doubted it. The two talked about the book series and about school.

"What do you think you'll be after you graduate from school?" Narcissa asked curiously. Lily hesitated.

"Well, I was thinking I'd like to go to medical school," Lily said quietly.

"Muggle medical school?" Narcissa asked.

"If my parents' will approve, yes, otherwise I'll go to the Wizard Healing Institute," Lily said. She looked at the woman. "I've not told anyone that I want to do that. I like Quidditch, but I don't think I want to go pro, you know?"

"The WHI is a great school," Narcissa said smiling. "A doctor or a healer would be a wonderful job. Very fulfilling."

"What did you want to be," Lily said. Narcissa smiled a sort of wistful, pained smile.

"I never had the luxury of choice," Narcissa said. "My grandfather paired me with Lucius and immediately we were married. Draco came along a few years later."

"But had you been able to choose?" Lily asked. Narcissa thought for a moment.

"I wanted to work in the Department of Mysteries," Narcissa said. "The idea of being around things of a supernatural nature interested me. That dream died when I was accepted at Hogwarts, confirming my marriage to Lucius."

"I'm sorry," Lily said quietly. Narcissa smiled.

"Don't be," Narcissa said. "We all live the lives we are meant to live."

Lily had been to the house on several occasions, yet it never ceased to amaze her. Here, in the early summer, the grass was a deep emerald green, a Slytherin green. She smiled at the fitting color as the car silently pulled up the drive and parked. A few house elves swarmed the car, opening doors and removing the luggage. Narcissa and Lily walked through the door and Lily inhaled, loving the sweet smell of the house. She smiled almost shyly as Draco appeared from the office.

"Are you excited?" Draco asked glancing at the way Lily twisted her fingers.

"Yeah," Lily said blushing and pulling her hands apart.

"And you brought your passport, right?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Lily said nodding.

"Why don't you head up and visit with Scorpius a bit while I have lunch started," Narcissa suggested. Lily nodded. "Your room is right across the hall from his, the door's open and your luggage is already in there."

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Lily said.

"Please, Lily, call me Gran," Narcissa said. She looked at Draco and cleared her throat delicately.

"What? I like the idea of Potter's kid calling me mister," Draco said. His mother gave him a look and he laughed. "Lily, feel free to call me Draco."

"Yes, sir," Lily said. She hesitated before she started away.

"He did a good job, raising a polite child," Narcissa commented quietly to Draco as she turned and headed towards the kitchens. Lily climbed the stairs silently, tripping on the last one and nearly falling on her face. She blushed, glancing around and relieved that no one had seen her trip going up the stairs. She wasn't surprised to see Scorpius' door open. His room was a complete disaster, his trunk wide open and clothes strewn about. His luggage was open, half full, and Scorpius was on his back, eyes closed.

"Please tell me you aren't asleep again," Lily groaned as she shook his shoulder hard, pulling back before he could grab her.

"Oh, hey," he said sleepily.

"We leave in the morning and you're still not packed," Lily said shaking her head.

"I'll finish in time," Scorpius said. "How was the ride in with Gran?"

"Good," Lily said as she took a seat by the window. He rolled to his stomach to watch her. She crossed her ankles and folded her hands in her lap.

"Are you not wearing the locket?" he asked quietly.

"I am," Lily said as she fished it from under her tee shirt. "I just like to keep it close."

"Cute," Scorpius said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"So, I was thinking that since you and I are friends," Lily murmured. "It'd be ok if I ask you something."

"Sure," Scorpius replied. He sat up on his bed, looking over at her curiously.

"I have that friend, Shale, from school," Lily said.

"I remember him," he confirmed.

"I think I have a problem with him," Lily said. "He's one of my best friends, and I care about him deeply, but he's Kate's ex-boyfriend and I think he's confused."

"Confused?" Scorpius said.

"I think I've blurred the lines between our friendships," Lily said. "I've been thinking about something we talked about back at school. It was a conversation about body parts, and it kind of stuck with me."

"Body parts?"

"You know," Lily said as her face blazed with embarrassment. "Personal body parts. I just don't want to screw things up with him."

"As friends?" Scorpius pressed.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"I think Shale will survive you turning his advances down," Scorpius said. Lily thought on it a bit.

"He did seem ok when I turned him down after he kissed me," Lily said more to herself. She glanced up to see Scorpius climbing off his bed.

"That was that night wasn't it? The night you woke me up and had me haul him down to the hospital wing," Scorpius said smirking as he folded some of the clothes.

"Eh," Lily said as a smile threatened. She looked away quickly.

"Fine, fine, don't tell me," Scorpius said as he loaded the clothes into his suit case. He headed towards her, laughter in his eyes. "I bet it was a spectacular hit."

"It was," Lily laughed.

"That's my girl," Scorpius said as he tousled her hair. Lily rolled her eyes and smoothed her hair down.

"You'd better mean that in the friendliest way as possible," Lily said. "Otherwise I'm not sitting by you on the plane."

"Awe, you're mean," Scorpius smirked as he headed back to his suitcase.

"Kids? Lunch!" Draco called from the bottom of the stairs. Scorpius pulled Lily up by her hand off the seat and led her out of the bedroom.

* * *

Lily looked at her reflection in the mirror, thinking that she would have liked to have a little more to fill out her top. She was glad she had chosen white, even though she was pale compared to the natives on the island and half of the tourists, but she didn't care. She still thought she looked pretty cute. She exited the bathroom, wearing the two-piece swimsuit.

"Still think I look too young?" Lily teased cheerily. Scorpius growled and covered his head with the blanket, not looking at her.

"Lily, jet lag," he complained not even looking at her.

"Wimp," Lily laughed as she pulled her shorts and shirt on. "And jet lag only works as an excuse when you go back in the time zones, not forward."

"I don't think so," Scorpius said. Lily jerked back his covers from over his head.

"Get up or I'm leaving you behind," Lily said. "And I'm sure that there are a lot of guys that would love to take me around the island."

"Fine, fine," Scorpius growled.

"I'll be in the other room for ten minutes, and then I'm leaving," Lily threatened lightly as she stepped out of the bedroom that the two of them were sharing, each with their own full sized hotel bed. They were staying in a three bedroom suite, Lily and Scorpius sharing the children's room. The adults had seemed hesitant about letting them share but the kids were acting more and more like siblings than anything else with their playfulness and bickering. In the end, the door was spelled permanently open and there weren't any issues.

"You are so the little sister I never wanted," Scorpius grumbled as he stumbled out into the main room. Lily glanced up at him from her toast, grinning.

"Good to know that," Lily laughed as he stopped to tie his swim trunks. He threw himself into the chair next to her. She had already pour him a cup of coffee and made him a plate.

"Isn't that sweet of Lily?" Narcissa asked as she looked up from her paper.

"What?" Scorpius asked yawning.

"Lily making you a plate, of course," Narcissa said shaking her head. "I swear, Scorpius, you really aren't a morning person."

"Neither is she," Scorpius accused good naturedly as he took a sip of the coffee. "She's just really good at pretending."

"So?" Lily grinned. "Do you really want to spend all of two weeks sleeping? You can sleep the rest of summer. Now's the time for fun."

"This island is so boring!" Scorpius complained. Lily laughed.

"I've already signed us up for activities," Lily told him. Scorpius looked at her warily.

"Activities?" Scorpius asked. "Like swimming and stuff?"

"No, not swimming," Lily said shaking her head. "I can't swim, at least not well enough not to get myself killed. This is more like hiking and stuff."

"Seriously?" Scorpius frowned.

"Would you rather go shopping with me?" Narcissa offered. Scorpius shook his head.

"No, but micromanaging my holiday isn't exactly ideal," Scorpius said.

"I just planned out like one or two activities," Lily told him. She crossed her arms. "You don't have to go with me if you don't want."

"I'll go hiking with you, but then you have to go on the Sea Brooms with me," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him confused.

"Sea brooms?" Lily said.

"I'll show you," he promised.

"Agreed," Lily said.

Hiking was boring. Even Lily could admit it. It wasn't even really a hike, more like a tour on a trolley. Scorpius fell asleep half way through after glaring at Lily for a bit. She had apologized and spent the rest of the time looking at the boring greenery. At the end of the fake-hike, the two walked back to pool.

"How about a swim?" Scorpius teased, his mood lightening slightly.

"Very funny," Lily said. "How about lunch and then you can swim."

"Sure, drown me," Scorpius said with mock hurt. "Eating and swimming."

"You're so melodramatic," Lily laughed as they were guided to Narcissa's table. The woman looked up at the kids.

"How was the hike, kids?" She asked.

"A bust," they both agreed.

"Do you want to go shopping with me on one of the other islands?" Narcissa offered.

"No, Lily promised to go on the sea brooms with me if I went on the hike," Scorpius said grinning at her. Lily shook her head.

"I still don't know what sea brooms are," Lily said. "But I promised, so fine."

* * *

Lily stood on a dock alone for a few moments. Sweat beaded up on her forehead and she had stuffed her tee shirt in her bag, looking at her reflection in the rental shop window. She had no idea what Scorpius was doing inside, but he came out looking pretty triumphant. He looked at her and fumbled with the key he had in his hand. Lily frowned and scooped the key off the splintered wood.

"Something wrong?" Lily asked as she looked at herself in the reflection. She thought for what she had to work with, she was doing pretty well and looking good.

"Oh, er, no," Scorpius said blushing. "Let me lock your bag up in the lockers."

"Ok," Lily said as she held it out to him. He headed to the lockers, tossing the bag into the first free one and removing the key. Lily safety pinned it in her shorts pocket and followed him down the dock. He stopped, her knocking into him and falling back on her bottom. He turned and looked at her, offering her his hand.

"Sea brooms," Scorpius said as the two of them stood looking at a small water craft. Lily started laughing.

"A Sea-Do," Lily laughed. "You want me to ride on a jet ski over open water? Have you lost your mind? I can't swim!"

"I thought of that," he said as he gestured to two life jackets. "They're streamline and thin for comfort. Then there's always me. I'm an excellent swimmer and I'd save you."

"Like I need to be in debt to you for saving my life again," Lily said as Scorpius handed her a jacket. He stepped into his leg straps, tightening them and sliding his arms in. He looked at her when he was finished zipping and buckling.

"How in the world do you manage to get dressed in the morning without getting tangled up?" Scorpius teased as he shook his head. He helped her buckle up and the two of them climbed aboard.

It was almost as thrilling as the first time Lily had ridden a broom, the way the wind whipped at her face, but with water in the spray. She clung to him, her arms wrapped tight around him. He stopped and jumped off into the water, removing his jacket first, swimming circles around the craft diving under the water, surfacing after what Lily swore was too long to be under water.

"Show off," Lily smirked. Scorpius rested his chin on his arms, looking up at her.

"Want to come and swim," he asked as he trailed water on her.

"You know I can't swim," she said.

"Trust me," he said. Lily hesitated before she unhooked her buckles.

"I'm going to drown," she said mournfully as she hung her jacket on the handle next to his.

"I'm not going to let you drown," Scorpius promised. Lily looked at him with doubt.

"If you do, I swear I'll haunt you," she threatened with a smile.

"If you drown, I'll drown myself," Scorpius promised. Lily stuck her tongue out at him and gripped the Jet Ski.

"Oh, the water's warm," Lily said as she hung onto tight.

"You really can't swim?" Scorpius asked.

"I can sort of tread water," Lily said. "But that's about it."

"That's all I needed to know," Scorpius said as he pulled her fingers free of the Jet Ski.

"No!" she said in a panic as she tried to grip back onto it.

"It'll be ok," he promised and she shook her head, now gripping onto him. Her arms were around his neck and she refused to let go. She wrapped her legs around him, her one free hand reaching for the water craft. "Easy, Lily you're going to drown me the way you're climbing up me."

"Better you than me," she said half heartedly as her fingers tried to grip any part of it.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Scorpius chuckled. He held onto the Jet Ski, his free arm around her. "You really ought to learn how to swim."

"Yeah, well, I'll keep that in mind," Lily growled slightly as she clung to him. He sighed.

"Go ahead and climb back on, then," he said. Lily looked relieved as he pushed her back on the Jet Ski. He let go of it, continuing to gracefully tread water. She sat on the seat.

"You suck, you know," Lily said as she watched him. "You're too damn perfect."

"Gee, you say that like it's a bad thing," Scorpius said laughing. "Scoot back so I can get on."

"I want to drive it," Lily told him. He climbed on the back, tipping it dangerously to the side. He slid behind her, wrapping his arms around her midsection.

"This is… nice," he said as he pressed his face against her shoulder. She laughed.

"Eager to be the girl then?" she teased.

"No," Scorpius said with his face still pressed to her bare shoulder. "You're just so soft."

"Great," Lily laughed as she wiggled free of him. She handed him his life jacket and worked to get her jacket on as well. "I want to be the soft one. Not great for Quidditch."

"Eh," Scorpius said as he pulled on his jacket. He reached around to the front of her, buckling her jacket carefully. "You're being soft doesn't have anything to do with Quidditch. It's not related."

"You're not making any sense," Lily laughed. She started up the Jet Ski. "Now, I'm in control."

"Sure, whatever you think," Scorpius laughed as the two sped off.

* * *

Lily waved Scorpius and Draco off, both of them looking stylish and well dressed in suits. Scorpius was having to spend the day with his father, doing business stuff, and Lily planned to spend the time reading by the pool. She had to admit that he was rather good looking in a suit and she kind of enjoyed watching him sleepily tie his tie.

"I'll see you later, ok?" he promised. "I forgot that I'd have to spend a little time learning this business crap, you know that my dad insists I learn his investments, that will one day become my investments, too."

"Don't worry about it," Lily said as she lounged on her bed, ankle crossed. She had her arms crossed against her stomach.

"You're not mad are you?" Scorpius asked as he crossed to her bed. Lily looked up at him, a smile on her face.

"Nuh-uh," Lily murmured.

"Good," he said as he kissed her forehead. Lily made a face. "What?"

"Kind of pale good bye, huh?" Lily accused with a smirk.

"Well, maybe we can discuss that later," Scorpius said. "Have a good day today. Try not to have too much fun without me."

* * *

Scorpius was thankful when he and his father finally returned to the suite. It was nearly dark and they were planning on taking Narcissa and Lily to a nice dinner. Narcissa looked up as the two walked in, a look on her face. She smiled.

"I think going out for dinner tonight is not a good idea," Narcissa said. "I've already called and ordered for us, so it should be here shortly."

"Oh?" Draco said.

"Lily over did it a bit today and is resting," Narcissa said lightly. Draco and Scorpius looked at the bedroom door.

"Is she ok?" Draco asked as Scorpius removed his tie and coat, heading to the room.

"She'll be fine," Narcissa said.

The room was pitch black and Scorpius could see something laying face down on his bed. He tossed his jacket and tie aside, sitting on the bed. He rested his hand on Lily's back, surprised to find it bare and as if it was on fire. She gasped from the pain.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked as he pulled his hand back.

"Noooo," Lily breathed.

"What happened?" Scorpius said tensely.

"I fell asleep by the pool," Lily groaned. Scorpius flipped the light on, the contrast between Lily's white two-piece bathing suit and her fire red flesh intense.

"You look like a piece of striped candy," Scorpius said.

"Shut up," Lily growled. Scorpius snickered. "It's not funny."

"Awe, I know, I'm sorry," Scorpius said quietly. He thought a minute or two. "You want me to put some lotion on your back or something?"

"I don't want to be touched," whined Lily.

"I guess I'll sleep in your bed tonight, then," Scorpius said.

"NO, don't leave," Lily begged as he pulled away from her.

"I don't want to accidentally touch you," Scorpius said as Lily rolled onto her back. She exhaled in a low moan.

"I'll be ok," Lily breathed again.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked her.

"Some commonsense?" Lily joked.

"Yeah, I don't think I can help you there," Scorpius said laughing. Lily struggled to sit for a second and gave up. He looked at her concerned. "You sure that there's nothing I can get you?"

"Your Gran already gave me something," Lily said. She rolled to her side, showing him her back.

"It still looks really red," Scorpius said cringing.

"You should have seen it when I drug myself up here an hour ago," Lily said. "I thought your Gran was going to faint."

"Yeah?" Scorpius said.

"She did look a bit burnt," Narcissa said as she held two take-away containers of food. She brought them into the room. She placed the containers on the bed with a few cans of soda. "It looks much better though. A few more hours and it should be better. Remember to wear sunscreen tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," Lily said as she finally sat up. Narcissa left the two of them to eat. Scorpius moved to sit next to her on the bed, resting against the head board while they ate dinner. Lily flipped the television on to some random movie.

"Yum," Scorpius said eating. "Gran always chooses the best food for take-away."

"It's very good," Lily agreed as she ate.

"Let me check your back," Scorpius said. Lily turned to show him her back, the color still a shade of red, though much less violent in its intensity. "It looks a lot better."

"Feels better, too," Lily said as she closed the top of her container and stood. "I think I will take a shower and get out of my swimsuit. I feel like I am running around in my underwear."

"Hmm," Scorpius said noncommittally. Lily smiled at him.

"Don't take my seat," Lily said as she gathered a few things. "I'll be back."

* * *

Lily bound back into the room, shivering from the shower and the air conditioning. She climbed back into Scorpius' bed. She snuggled up against him without asking, resting her head against his chest. She sighed and fell asleep. Scorpius didn't realize that she was asleep until he went to move his arm. He looked down at her, asleep.

"Lils, wake up," Scorpius said touching her face.

"No," Lily mumbled as she snuggled closer to him.

"You have to go to your own bed," Scorpius said.

"Not tonight," Lily yawned as she turned over.

"You want me to go sleep in your bed?" he asked as he jerked his tee shirt off over his head and threw it to onto the chair.

"No," Lily mumbled as she tucked her face into the pillow.

"It's going to be tough for me to sleep next to you," Scorpius confessed. He was leaning over her, his mouth nearly touching her ear. She stretched her arms a bit and rolled to her back, slightly cringing before her face relaxed.

"Why's that?" she asked sleepily. Her eyes were still closed and he could tell that she was on the very brink of sleep. He waited a moment.

"Because, even though I still think you are too young for me, I think I'm falling for you," Scorpius whispered as he touched her lips with his fingers. He paused, waiting for her response. "Lils? Are you awake?" Scorpius was met with silence.


	20. Competition

A/N: I hope that my releasing two chapters simultaneously didn't bog you all down with too much to read. This chapter marks the 100k word mark! Wow, an average of 5k words per chapter. Great job to all of you who are reading and reviewing. Fantastic. Those who aren't should be beaten. I kid! I kid! Seeing now that releasing two was a BAD idea, I'll never do that again. Sorry to have overwhelmed you and so… one chapter at a time from now on… I promise.

Disc.: Plot is the only thing I created.

* * *

Competition

Lily rolled her eyes at her brothers as they bickered in the back seat of the car. She was sitting next to her father, in the passenger seat of their car. She reached and flipped the radio on, hoping to drown out the bickering. She kept her hands folded in her lap, watching as King's Crossing came into view. She was wearing a cute little sundress, tied behind her neck. Her hair was up in a loose knot, wisps of it having escaped from the tie.

"Lily being a prefect doesn't count," Albus said.

"Hey," Lily said turning her face to look back at them.

"Well, it doesn't," Albus said. Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to face forward as the car pulled into a parking spot.

"The fact of the matter is, Albus, Lily and I both made prefect for our houses and you didn't," James teased. Lily unbuckled her seat belt and opened her car door. She caught a glimpse of herself in the car parked next to her and smiled slightly. She could feel the fragile looking anklet against her skin, a gift from Scorpius in celebration of her fifteenth birthday. She had gotten a bit taller, but not by much and she was resolved to be petite, with well proportioned curves. She was happy, though, and that was all that mattered.

'_Single and happy_,' Lily thought to herself as she watched her brothers pull the school trunks from the boot of the car.

"Honey, you look nervous," Harry said quietly. Lily looked at him and shook her head, smiling.

"Not at all," Lily said. She pulled her purse on over her shoulder and waited.

"I can't believe how beautiful you've grown to be," Harry said kissing her forehead. "Your mother would have been proud."

"Yeah," Lily said and for the moment, she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Her eyes welled up and Harry immediately realized his mistake.

"Oh, honey, I didn't mean to upset…" Harry started. Lily shook her head.

"No, it's fine," Lily said taking a deep breath. "Just give me a second and I'll be ok."

Harry waited as Lily glanced away from him, focusing on the ground before she looked up and smiled at him. Lily wouldn't think about it. Not now. Not when it happened two years ago. She refused to dwell and instead offered to take her own trunk on a trolley. James shook his head, leaping into his role as big brother by leaps and bounds. He had grown up quite a bit and was more mature now, for the most part. Lily let him half hug her for a second before she laughed and pushed his arm off of her.

Harry watched his youngest carefully as the four of them walked through King's Crossing, James pushing his own trolley while pulling Lily's behind him. Lily caught him looking at her, concern and worry on his tired face and she forced a smile. It hurt a bit to see her trying to show him that everything was ok. He knew she was repressing a lot. She never cried.

"Now, Albus please try to be good," Harry said. His voice was quiet, even, though he hoped his son picked up on the insistence that he tried to put behind his words. Albus nodded as he watched James effortless load Lily's trunk.

"I'll keep an eye on these two," Albus promised as he gestured to his siblings. Harry chuckled.

"Now, James, remember to study for your N.E.W.T.s, and Lily, honey, do well on your O.W.L.s," Harry said. Lily nodded as she stepped into her father's welcoming arms. He squeezed her, planting a kiss easily on the top of her head.

"I'll do my best, Daddy," Lily said sweetly and Harry nodded, choked up. It would never get easier to say good bye to his little girl, no matter how many times he had to do it. She was just growing up so painfully fast for him.

"Let me show you were your stuff is," James offered as the two of them headed towards the train. "This is, after all, your first year as a prefect."

"Alright," Lily said as she followed. She looked behind her waving at her father. He smiled and waved back as she disappeared into the train car.

James and Lily walked along silent through the noisy corridor, side stepping the first years that were in abundance around them. Neither said a word as James slid the compartment door open to the prefects' car and the two stepped through. Lily could not suppress her surprise on how much nicer it was than the regular cars. A few other prefects, including the new Slytherin one Shale Zabini, milled around catching up. Shale rushed to Lily, throwing his arms around her and nearly knocking her to the floor.

"Isn't this great?" Shale asked as he caught himself and Lily before they tumbled right out the train car. "We're prefects together. All year long, working side by side."

"Well, when you put it that way," Lily laughed as she pulled herself free of his exuberant embrace.

"Hey," Shale said making a face. The two of them laughed and Lily looked at her bag in the overhead bin longingly. Asher's basket was void of the spot. An ache crept into her chest for a moment, but she jerked her head away from that and met the other new prefects from the other houses. She barely glanced up at the new head boy and girl, a set of Ravenclaw students that seemed a little too goody-two-shoes for Lily. She laughed inwardly at that.

"Hey, Lily," Scorpius said as he sat in one of the chairs across from where Lily and Shale were now sitting. She smiled.

"Hello there," she replied. "How was your summer?"

"Dull," he said frowning.

"No crazy adventures while you were away?" Lily asked. He shook his head.

"I did make captain of our team," Scorpius said. Lily's face brightened.

"Oh, that's great," Lily said as she awkwardly hugged him before returning to her own seat. He shrugged.

"You going out for the team this year?" he asked. Lily's smile faltered slightly.

"I… I wasn't really thinking about it," Lily said quietly. Shale made a noise of contempt.

"Come on, Lily, you have to," Shale said taking her hand in his. "If it wasn't for you we wouldn't have won the house cup last year."

"I doubt that the whole victory was me," Lily laughed. Shale continued to hold Lily's hand.

"Just try out," Shale pleaded as he smiled at her. Lily sighed.

"Ok, fine," Lily said. She turned to Scorpius. "When are tryouts?"

"I was thinking next weekend," Scorpius said as his eyes flicked to Shale's hands still wrapped around Lily's hand. She caught his eye, a silly little half smile on her face as she pulled her hand from reluctant Shale.

"Good," Lily said as she stood. "Well, I think I'll go change into my school uniform. Can't very well do my first prefect duties in a sundress."

"I don't mind," Shale teased. Lily rolled her eyes and departed to where her belongings were. She pulled out her school uniform, laying it on the bench seat before she untied the halter part of her sundress. A knock on the door interrupted her disrobing and Lily quickly retied it before she opened it.

"Scorpius?" Lily said confused as he stepped in. He looked at her, glanced at the clothes on the seat, and then back at her, standing barefoot in the compartment.

"How are you?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm fine," Lily said with a simple smile.

"No, I mean, how are you _really_?" he asked. "I heard that your mother finally passed away."

"Really, Scorpius, I'm fine," Lily said. He looked at her disbelieving. She sighed and sat down, patting the seat next to her. He sat looking at her. "After the accident, we didn't know how long it would take so I said my good-byes every time I parted from her. I was there in the end, when she went, and for once in two years she was in peace. So, really, I'm fine. I'm glad she's not suffering anymore."

"I just had heard, rumors mainly…" Scorpius mumbled. Lily shook her head.

"Like your mum, mine died doing what she loved," Lily said with a slight smile. "My not crying over it has no bearing on my loss, trust me. Two years is a long time to grieve."

"Still, Lils, if you ever need anyone to just listen, I'm here for you," Scorpius said. Lily smiled again, and she touched his cheek with the palm of her hand before she embraced him.

"You've always been such a great friend," Lily said as she tucked her face against his neck. "I couldn't ask for any more from you. I'm just sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" Scorpius murmured as her lips brushed the side of his neck in a distracting way while she talked.

"That I ruined your summer," Lily said quietly. "I did very much like where things could have headed, might have been heading, but that seems like a life time ago."

"You didn't ruin my summer," Scorpius said. "I'm just glad that I got those few days with you. It opened my eyes to a lot of things. One day, I hope I will have the opportunity to talk with you about them."

"That was two years ago, Scorpius," Lily said as she drew back slightly. "Then, I might not have known what you meant, but I do now. Two years is a long time to harbor thoughts and feelings."

"And yet," Scorpius said as she pulled even further away. "I'd still like to talk to you about them one day."

"Perhaps one day," Lily agreed softly. She glanced at her clothes. "I should get changed. See you on the walk around."

Scorpius took his cue and left Lily standing alone in the compartment. She shook her head, rolling her eyes as she jerked off her clothes and slipped her school uniform on over her underwear. She was tucking in her shirt when a knock to the door interrupted her. She rolled her eyes again and opened the door. Shale was there, grinning. She left the door open as she walked to the bench to put her socks and shoes on.

"We've been paired up," he said happily.

"For patrol? No surprise there," Lily said as she finished the incidental parts of dressing. Shale threw himself into the seat across from her, his smile fading.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, why?" Lily asked confused.

"Your mum died," he said almost as if he was in some pained shock.

"No, she didn't," Lily said. Shale looked at her confused. "Her body died this summer, but my mother died two years ago. I wish people would quit acting so concerned around me."

"We are concerned, Lily," Shale said. He forced a smile. "You are one of my best friends."

"I appreciate it, Shale," Lily said after she took a moment to recollect her emotions. "I do, but really. I don't want to talk about it, ok?"

"Ok," he said. The two sat in silence for a moment. "Are you up to patrolling?"

"Yes," Lily said as she stood first.

* * *

After the first years were properly sorted, Lily and her fellow classmates began eating their dinner. The feast spread before them and the students tucked in with such exuberance that no one really talked much. Kate, Callie, and Nina looked at Lily with concern. She looked up at them, raising her eyebrow. The three looked away quickly and Lily shook her head.

"So, Lily, you're trying out for the team again this year, huh?" Damon asked. Lily nodded her head swallowing a too large bite of food.

"Yes, well, Shale and Scorpius seemed pretty insistent," Lily said.

"Don't go and try throwing the tryouts to get out of playing," Damon teased. Lily blushed slightly. Damon shook his head. "Awe, you were going to, weren't you?"

"I had thought about it," Lily confessed. "After all, I have O.W.L.s this year and I can't afford to be distracted."

"Please," Kate laughed. "I know for a fact that you are top of our level. I'd daresay if they did the whole advanced placement in our cores, you'd probably have graduated already."

"That's not true," Lily said shaking her head.

"Now you're just being modest," Kate said as she smiled at her long time friend. Lily laughed.

"Right, Lily, modest?" Shale teased. "I saw you giving yourself eyes in the reflection of the compartment window."

"What can I say?" Lily said as a slight heat rose to her cheeks. She ducked behind a glass of juice, hiding.

"You're still shorter than the rest of us," Shale teased. Lily grinned.

"Just means you'd all get hit first in a meteor shower," Lily teased back, laughing. The kids around them laughed. "And I'm taller than the first years this year, maybe even taller than some of the second and third years."

"Except for John Collins," Kate piped up as she glanced over her shoulder at the very tall Gryffindor boy.

"Now Kate," Lily laughed. "John Collins is a third year. Two years younger really is just too young to be dating at our ages." Lily looked at Scorpius, a wicked glint in her eyes.

"Two years or even three years is nothing," Kate whined, not catching the look Lily shot Scorpius. He had paused mid-bite, looking at her curiously.

"Maybe when we're in our forties, or even twenties, but when you're fifteen and he's only thirteen, it is something," Lily said quietly. "There are plenty of guys our age to lust after. It's best for all parties involved for us to stay in our own age pool. How about David Campbell from Ravenclaw? He's kind of cute."

"Meh, I dated him last year," Kate said shaking her head.

"What about Brodie Thomas?" Lily suggested.

"Dated him before David," Kate replied.

"Chris Craft?"

"Dated his twin brother," Kate sighed.

"Benji Artemis, Luc Tran Du, Connor Jacobs?" Lily said as she mentally went through the rest of Ravenclaw and started on Hufflepuff.

"Second year, third year, and same time as David," Kate said as her face turned a bit pink.

"_Merlin_," Lily said as she fought to suppress her grin.

"Well, you dated Flint, and he was four grades ahead of you," Kate countered. Lily laughed.

"A mistake," Lily assured you. She glanced at her plate for a second, pushing her veggies around with her fork. "Flint was much too old for me. In the end, he and I made the right choice to end it. What you want at thirteen is not necessarily what's best for you."

"Good to know," Scorpius said quietly. A few people looked at him curiously but no one replied.

"But I'm fifteen," Kate complained without hesitation to Lily's comment. "It'd be nice to get some fresh little thing to entertain me."

"You sound like you're going to eat him," Lily laughed. Kate snickered.

"I might," Kate said only loud enough that Lily, Callie, and Nina heard. The three girls' cheeks flushed pink and they all started laughing, drawing a few curious looks from the rest of the Slytherin table.

"Heaven help the boys of Hogwarts," Lily said grinning.

"You think your brother Albus would like to have a go?" Kate asked. Lily's eyes widened in surprise.

"Kate Rosier, what would your parents say to that?" Lily laughed. "A Slytherin fifth year with a Gryffindor sixth year; what a scandal!"

"Hey, at least she wouldn't be robbing the cradle with the little third years," Shale laughed. Lily giggled at that thought, resting her face on her hand.

"Too true," Lily said thoughtfully.

"And just think," Kate said. "If things go well, you and I could become sisters-in-law."

"Heaven help us," Lily laughed. "Granted, you'd be hard pressed not to go through that relationship like the rest."

"Do you think you could talk to him?" Kate asked. Lily looked at her warily.

"I don't really like to get involved, least not where my older brothers are concerned," Lily said apologetically. Kate looked at her pleadingly.

"Please, Lily," Kate begged. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'll bring you up," Lily said. "You do realize that he is the most immature person I know, right? Between him and my cousin, Hugo."

"Oh, if Albus says no, talk to Hugo for me, will you?" Kate suggested excitedly.

"No," Lily said shaking her head. "I'm not asking him to date you. I'll plant the seeds of curiosity. You have to do the rest on your own."

"Some help you are," Kate grumbled. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"We can talk strategy after I settle the first years in," Lily promised which brightened Kate's mood considerably. Lily laughed at the easy way Kate seemed to cheer up and didn't even notice the intense way that Scorpius was looking at her.

And he was looking at her. When looked at her, he couldn't help but remember how she had felt in his arm that night, the one night he'd never forget no matter what happened to him. He'd never forget the way she felt, warm and soft, curled against him in his arms. Even if he had wanted, which he didn't, he couldn't purge it from his memory.

_She had asked him, sleepily, not to leave her side. That he was certain, though perhaps not in those words, and he had no option but to comply. He wouldn't have dared to say no to her, because though she did not know it, he was completely gone when it came to Lily Potter. Scorpius loved her. He couldn't pin point the moment he decided that it was true, perhaps when he stopped fighting it. Maybe he had known all along he would buckle and stop resisting her, yet it had surprised him that it was so easy to do. He had been fighting it so long._

_Scorpius had to admit. It felt nice having her so close. In bed, her being so much short than him wasn't noticeable. Her face tucked easily against his neck and her body seemed to fit against his perfectly. He had never been one that liked being touched when he was trying to sleep, but he could imagine the two of them lying like that forever. She had draped her leg over his, causing him only the most pleasurable discomfort. He had a hard time focusing on keeping his excitement levels level as she clung to him in his sleep._

_Part of that closeness was what warned him early on that there was something up, something very wrong. He was unable to stop his racing thoughts, to turn his mind off to sleep. He heard the phone ringing shrilly and his father's voice, though the words were hard to understand. He figured it had to be work related this late at night and instead buried his face against Lily's face, her fingers tangled in his hair. He thought of things of quite impure natures and thought that he had resisted her far too long._

"First year students tucked away?" Elena asked as she led the way back into the common room ahead of Scorpius. He followed to see Lily sitting cross legged on the floor with Kate and Shale. He had to admit she was consistent in her friends. He hoped that worked across the board.

"Yes," Lily said looking up at her. Shale was sitting behind Lily on the couch, his feet up and he was twisting a lock of Lily's hair around his finger. Whether she was ignoring it or oblivious, Scorpius wasn't sure.

"You're getting better," Scorpius said to Lily. She looked at him, almost as if she was surprised for a second before she slightly smiled.

"James and I have been practicing," Lily said. Scorpius nodded. He had known that she and her oldest brother had clung to each other in a strong, unbreakable bond when everything in her life was turned upside down. James had been her rock in the uncertain storm.

"He must suck too," Kate laughed as she moved her piece and removed yet another piece of Lily's. Lily laughed, though her laughter seemed a bit hollow.

"He does alright," Lily said as she overtook a piece of Kate's. Shale let his fingers continue to twist in Lily's hair, completely and seemingly unnoticed by Lily.

"They're hovering," Kate complained. "It's making me nervous."

"We could sit," Scorpius said. "If you think that would make you more comfortable."

"Sure," Kate said as she looked up at him. Elena and Scorpius took a seat on the couch behind her and Kate gave Lily a look. Lily ignored it and continued to play.

"Sit up, Zabini and let someone else sit on the sofa," Damon said knocking the boy's feet aside.

"Fine," Shale said as he sat up, setting one leg on either side of Lily's shoulders. Lily glanced back at him as if she had just realized that he was back there, a slight smile on her face.

"Do you need me to scoot forward so you can have more room?" Lily offered as she looked up at him from her place on the floor.

"No, you're fine," Shale said with a half smile as he touched her hair, tucking it behind her ear. She grinned at him and turned back to the game without another word. It was quiet while the two fifth year girls stared at the pieces, now having drawn an audience of three seventh year students. Scorpius saw Lily shiver at Shale's slight touch though he couldn't be entirely certain that Lily was conscious of the fact Shale's touch had caused it.

Heat rose slightly in her cheeks and she shifted so that she was sitting on her other foot. Scorpius watched her carefully as she contemplated, running moves in her head as she watched the board. She went to reach for a piece just to withdraw her hand slightly. She seemed to ignore the solidarity that the pieces were claim and the loyalty to her they vowed. She held her bottom lip captive between her teeth as fought a smile.

"Give it up," Kate taunted with a smile on her lips. Lily's eyes fell on Scorpius for a second and held his gaze for a moment before turning back to the board.

"Checkmate," Lily said quietly as she moved her piece and won the game.

"NO!" Kate said as she looked at the board. She looked Lily. "Holy Hell, you beat me!"

"I was due," Lily murmured softly as Shale cheered. He threw his arms around Lily from behind and kissed her cheek. She laughed, pulling out of Shale's arms. She wiped her cheek off. "No slobber on the cheek, Shale."

"You know you love it," Shale laughed. Lily pushed his face away as he tried to kiss her cheek again, laughing.

"Well, as much as our prefects seem to be having a good time," Scorpius said yawning slightly. "I think it is that witching hour."

"Cute play on words there," Lily teased as she looked up at him. She smiled slightly before looking away, almost as if she was shy. She stood.

"Easy there," Shale laughed as Lily nearly toppled over. "Legs' asleep?"

"Yes," Lily laughed. She laughed as she tried to put weight on it and nearly fell again, Shale wrapping his arm tightly around her waist.

"Easy. Don't want you to hurt yourself," Shale grinned. Lily nodded as she pulled away.

"I think I can make it back to the dormitory," Lily grinned.

"You sure?" Shale asked. Lily looked away from Shale's face briefly to look at Scorpius before flashing him a grin.

"Absolutely," Lily said as she waved good bye to the room and both of the fifth year girls disappeared behind closed doors. Shale looked at Scorpius, laughing.

"I am _so_ falling for her," Shale grinned as he ran off to his own room. Damon and Elena looked at each other and then at Scorpius.

"You ok with that?" Damon asked frowning.

"No," Scorpius growled as he stormed off to his dormitory. Damon and Elena looked at each other again.

"This is going to be a long year," Damon sighed, rolling his eyes.


	21. Conflict

A/N: Ok, so hopefully with my just releasing chapter 20, I will get some feedback to make sure this is still keeping your interests, otherwise I'm ditching this and heading off to prepare for my exam… Thanks to _Point_ for Infamy's name (via IM)… Squint for always being quick with a review… um… to those of you who reviewed the chapters, especially _SquintSquad03_, _Hisanachan_, and _Beauty Eclipsed_ for reviewing chapter 18. Chapter 22 is written, but I won't release it until I am done w/23… which I can't work on until Tues/Wed of next week (moving). Anyways… my issue, not yours… have fun reading this. Things are going to start picking up soon, but doing things for the sake of doing them… not doing it… be patient.

Disc.: All this is make-believe.

* * *

Conflict

Her mouth was perfectly formed, inviting as it pulled up in the corners in what would have been a spectacular smile. If only that smile met her eyes, the moment would have been perfect. Complete. Instead, she turned her head two seconds too late and Scorpius could see the pain reflecting in those bottomless pools of liquid sapphire. They had stopped for a brief moment, to check, their conversation halted, and her eyes had given her away. Still, he said nothing, thinking it was more kind of him to let Lily believe that she was truly happy.

_'The rumors had to be true,' _he thought sadly as he walked along with her. He felt her hand brush his and he thought of taking it in his. Instead they walked along in silence, as if they had never been talking in the first place.

_Scorpius had heard his father talking in the other room, his voice barely louder than a hum, and he had known that something was up. He sleepily tried to grasp some of the words but sleep over came him, Lily tucked into his neck and her body curled against him. The warmth of her body, her sweet intoxicating scent drove his dreams straight into a place that was dangerous for him to go alone, much less with the source of temptation in his arms._

_"Scorpius, wake up," Draco said in a hoarse voice, shaking his son gently. Scorpius looked up confused, still half asleep._

_"We didn't do anything," Scorpius countered. He felt around for her in the bed with him but she was gone. In fact the night was gone, as well, and slivers of light breached the outermost parts of the curtains._

_"You need to get up and get dressed," Draco said. "We're leaving."_

_"L-leaving?" Scorpius asked hesitantly. He looked over to Lily's perfectly made bed. "Where's Lily?"_

_"There was an accident back home," Draco said as his voice suddenly became thick sounding._

_"An accident?" Scorpius said shooting upright._

_"Yes," Draco said. "Lily left with Gran just before dawn. They both thought it was best to let us sleep. There was an accident of sorts down at the ministry. Lily's mother was… involved."_

_"The phone call," Scorpius said. Draco looked at him surprised._

_"You heard my phone call?" he asked. Scorpius shook his head._

_"No, but you seemed… upset," Scorpius said as he jerked his jeans over his boxer shorts. Heat rose to his face. He had slept next to Lily in his boxers, her in just a tee shirt. Draco paused as he looked at his son._

_"What?" Draco asked._

_"How long after that call before you woke her up?" Scorpius asked._

_"It was a while, maybe three, four hours. I booked us all flights, which your Gran upped hers and Lily," Draco said._

_"What happened? The accident," Scorpius asked. Draco hesitated._

_"I'm not really sure," Draco said honestly. "Ginny didn't work in any department near mine and Harry's, so I've not really gotten the details. Hermione called me to let me know."_

_"It must be pretty bad if Harry didn't call," Scorpius commented as he jerked his shoes on his feet and tossed the rest of his clothes in his bag. "I'm ready."_

_"I… I'm not so sure I am," Draco admitted. "This feels too much like when Infamy died."_

_"W-when Mum died? How? Why?" Scorpius said in almost a panic. "Mum died from an accident."_

_"Your mother did die from an accident," Draco sighed. "She accidentally opened a cursed howler meant for me."_

"Scorpius, are you ok?" Lily asked, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked at her, blinking his eyes slightly confused. He had forgotten that he had been walking aside her this whole time, the sudden train of thought blocking everything else from his mind.

"Yeah," he said in rebuff. He pulled his sleeve from her hand. "Why?"

"You just seemed… _distracted_… that's all," Lily mumbled as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets. He looked at her, his eyes narrow.

"Have you been sleeping?" he asked her, noticing that she was looking rather exhausted. She glanced at him and shrugged.

"Same as usual," she said. He made a face.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him in shock.

"Do what?" She asked as she stopped walking, causing him to stop.

"The way you respond to everything," he said frustrated. "You play down everything. I'm not stupid. You look exhausted."

"Well, hell Malfoy," Lily said quietly. He cringed at his last name, the word sounding foreign on her lips. "Between class work, spell work, prefect duties, and Quidditch, not to mention O.W.L.s, I'm just coming up a little short in the sleep department."

"I see," he said.

"Plus I prefer it," Lily continued with a sigh, as if she didn't even hear him. "It easier to pass out from exhaustion night after night."

"Not sleeping well and not sleeping much," Scorpius said in a quiet way that made her look at him again. She leaned back against the wall.

"You can say that," Lily admitted as she crossed her arms.

"It's the nightmares, huh?" Scorpius asked quietly as he stood but just a foot away from her.

"The nightmares, I can live with those," Lily said quietly. "It's seeing her face, twisted in agony and knowing that there is nothing I can do." Lily looked up at him in shock, surprised that she had actually said that aloud.

"You know, if you want to talk about it," Scorpius offered. Lily looked back up at him, having let her gaze drop. Lily shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said. Scorpius stepped closer, pushing her arms aside and wrapped his arms around her. He rested his cheek against her head.

"You know, Lils," Scorpius said as he held her close. "I am one of those people you don't always have to keep up your strong front with, right?"

"It's not a front," Lily said as she pushed him away. She was angry, tears in her eyes and her fist clenched by her side. "There's nothing wrong."

"Your mother died, Lily," Scorpius said calmly as he kept his proximity. "No one is going to think badly of you for being upset at her passing."

"I'm not upset," Lily challenged through clenched teeth. Her voice shook and she blinked back the tears that threatened. Her fist shook.

"You're shaking," he commented quietly.

"It's anger," Lily promised. Scorpius laughed quietly and shook his head.

"I was really upset when my mother died," Scorpius said as he parted from Lily, turning his back on her as he peered out one of the windows. He looked out at the dark school grounds below. "I was angry and upset. I never cried because I thought that everyone would think of me as weak."

"Crying isn't weak, Score," Lily said as she stepped up behind him, her hand resting gently on his shoulder. He looked at her, a smiled on his face. She had regained her composure, as if she hadn't been on the brink of losing it.

"I know that now, and the same goes for you," Scorpius told her as he touched Lily's hand. Lily rolled her eyes, a slight smile on her face.

"I don't need to cry," Lily said.

"Have you?" Scorpius said as he turned to face her slowly.

"Er…" Lily said as she glanced away from his piercing eyes.

"She was your mother," Scorpius said.

"Yes, she was," Lily said. She took a shaky breath. "That doesn't mean I need to cry."

"You cried when we watched movies," Scorpius smirked. "And they weren't even all sad movies."

"That's different," Lily said. She crossed her arms. "Plus you didn't cry. Why is it a big deal that I didn't either?"

"Because I lied," Scorpius said as he started to walk away. He turned and looked at her. "If you ever need someone to hold you, someone to be…"

"A friend?" Lily offered the words when he seemed to fail to form them.

"Sure, a friend," Scorpius said nodding. "I'm here for you Lily, no teasing and no judgment."

"I'm fine, Scorpius. Really," Lily promised as she started toward him.

"So… you and Zabini?" Scorpius said suggestively. Lily looked at him in horror.

"NO! Of course not!" Lily implored. "He and I are just friends."

"It's just, the way he's with you is… _interesting_," Scorpius said. He didn't want to put into her head what Shale Zabini really felt about her, lest she start to feel the same. He just didn't know if he'd be able to handle it. Lily grinned.

"He's just much attuned to my needs and wants, that's all," Lily said as she fell into step beside him on the way back to the common room. "Plus, he's not my type."

Scorpius laughed. "I guess you're not at an age where I can say you are too young for a type any more, can I?"

"No," Lily said.

"So, Lils," Scorpius said. "What_ is_ your type?"

"I'll say it again, like I said it in first year," Lily teased as she reached the portrait to the Slytherin common room. "I'm not telling you."

"You know, I'm going to figure it out," Scorpius challenged as she walk through first. She spun around to face him in a flash. He crashed into her and would have knocked her to the ground has his arms been slower. She flashed him the most bone melting smile, leaning against him.

"I hope _you_ do," she whispered, her mouth near his ear as she stood on her very tip toes. She pulled away and skipped off to her dormitory for another night of restless sleep. Scorpius exhaled in a sharp gust, having seen that smile hit her eyes, causing the pools of azure to sparkle with laughter. His arms felt painfully empty the minute she left.

* * *

He could feel her before she moved into the booth with him. He looked up from his study materials, feeling quite put off that he was forced to study on his Hogsmead trip, but she had said that was her intentions. She was running late, having to help the third year student on their first trip to Hogsmead. He had accompanied her personally that first year, and could still remember how young she had looked compared to the woman who stood before him.

"You know you don't have to sit around and study with me," Lily said flashing him one of her stellar, heart breaking smiles.

"Nah, it's what I wanted to do," Scorpius said rolling his eyes as she pulled out a regular pen. He looked up at her surprised and she winked.

"Stupid quills kept leaking ink on everything," she said.

"So you use them in class?" Scorpius asked. Lily grinned. She leaned closer and whispered.

"Could you imagine the professors telling me no?" Lily asked rhetorically. She pulled back and flipped open one of her books, spreading her parchment out in front of her.

"You're taking double potions?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lily said without looking up.

"Why?" Scorpius asked.

"Because Muggle Studies was full," Lily said. She looked up to find him gaping at her. She laughed. "It's a joke, Score. I just am."

"Does it have to do with what you want to do after you finish Hogwarts?" Scorpius asked perceptively. Lily shrugged noncommittally and looked back down at her parchment.

"Maybe," she said after a minute. She looked back up at him to find his gaze almost penetrating as his eyes met her.

"You know, you're really hard to figure out," he said. Lily's eyes widen in genuine surprise.

"How do you figure?" she asked.

"Well, for one, everyone else is running around Hogsmead like dragons with their tails cut off," Scorpius said. Lily snickered.

"You know, you don't have to," Lily said as she waved her empty right hand over the books.

"For another, you won't tell me your type," he said. Lily grinned.

"Why do you want to know so badly, Score? Want to try and hook me up with someone?" Lily asked in a mocking tone. He frowned and shook his head.

"I just want to figure you out," he said. He laughed, his face brightening. "The longer you are single, the more time you can spend with me."

"Indeed," Lily murmured as she turned back to her books. Scorpius couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a slight blush warm her cheeks.

"So… let see," Scorpius said quietly though it was hardly necessary. The Hogs Head was void of people even with all the Hogwarts students running amuck. "Do you like them tall or short?"

"Than what?" Lily asked as she continued to take notes from her potions book.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked. Lily rolled the pen between her fingers in her left hand while she looked up at him.

"Well, height is relative," Lily said. "Completely subjective. I'm much shorter than you, so for me, you are tall. But to you, someone your height would be average, I'm short and Hagrid is tall."

"Hell, Lily, to _everyone _Hagrid's tall," Scorpius said. Lily laughed.

"Ok, I'll give you that one," Lily said. She bit the back of her pen a moment. "Taller than me."

"Ok, so most of the third year students are out," Scorpius teased.

"Yeah, or how about all of them," Lily laughed. "He has to be at least my age if not older."

"Screw it Lily, you should just date me," Scorpius said. Lily's head jerked up from her book to look at him, her eyes wide in surprise. He laughed, having misread her expression. "So… taller than you, your age or older. Not too hard. What about body type?"

"Really," Lily mumbled as she shook her head and returned her gaze to her book. She sighed and scratched out something on her parchment.

"You know, I still never managed to get you write something to me," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him, rolling her eyes.

"Fine," she said as she took his D.A.D.A. book he had been working out of. "Is this your personal copy of the Seventh Year D.A.D.A.?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said smiling confusedly at her. She grinned and snapped the book closed. She closed her eyes for a second and flipped open the book randomly. She held the book from his sight and looked at the page. She nearly laughed at the heading: _Love Potions used in the Dark Arts_. She loved cross over topics. She glanced at her potion book, to find that she was studying the very potion warned about for uses of dark nature.

"Ok, let see," Lily said dramatically as she clicked her pen on. She found a perfect spot, as if the book was demanding for her to write that next to the Amortentia potion section. She wrote in her perfect beautiful hand writing a quick little note, blowing on the ink to dry it. She smiled at it and looked at him.

"Done?" he asked curiously.

"Almost," Lily said grinning. She closed the book with a quick snap and handed it back to him. "Don't go looking for it. It'll find you."

"I bet," he said laughing as he let the pages flip quickly through his fingers. Lily turned back to her potion's book, her cheeks a stained a bit pink and warm. He watched for her moment, certain she was blushing. He knew he'd not wait. The minute he was alone, he'd go searching for whatever she wrote him.

"So, what about you, Score? Anyone caught your eye?" Lily asked with very little interest. She was back to working on her homework.

"Meh," Scorpius said shrugging. "There is this one girl."

"I knew it," Lily said with a slight smile, almost as if apologetic.

"Y-you knew?" he asked surprised. He couldn't believe how nervous he sounded.

"Yes, I saw the way that Maggie Bell was looking at you," Lily said as she looked back down at her papers.

"Maggie Bell?" Scorpius asked slightly confused.

"The cute little sixth year red head in Hufflepuff," Lily said.

"The the girl with the big breh… _brains_?" Scorpius said quickly covering. Lily looked up at him smirking.

"Is that really all that guys ever care about?" Lily said. Scorpius went to open his mouth and she laughed. "It's ok, really. Girls are superficial about things, too."

"No, really," Scorpius said sarcastically. Lily made a face at him and went back to work. "Merlin, Lily. This is dull."

"No one's keeping you here," Lily reminded.

"True," Scorpius said rolling his eyes. He frowned. "I just thought that maybe we could spend some time hanging out for fun, that's all."

"What? Is studying not fun?" Lily said with feigned innocents.

"Not really," Scorpius said scowling, missing the joke. Lily laughed.

"It was a joke Score," she said as she slid around to his side of the circular booth. She put her arm around his shoulder. "I'll make it up to you. I'll take one of your rotations and you can do whatever seventh boys do when they're not busy."

"Don't I have like two rotations with you already?" Scorpius asked making a face. Lily grinned.

"I'll pick up one of the ones we don't have together," Lily said. Scorpius looked at her, realizing how close she was to him. He traced the shape of her face and lips in his mind, his heart quickened. "What?"

"What?" Scorpius said blinking. Heat rose in his cheeks, a hint of color against the cream white flesh.

"You were… you looked like you were in a trance," Lily said as she smiled shyly at him. She averted her eyes and dropped her arm, sliding back to the other side of the booth. His cheeks were aflame with embarrassment.

"I… I think I'm going to go," Scorpius mumbled. "I promised Damon that I'd catch up with him."

"Ok," Lily said refusing to look up.

"See you rounding tonight?" he asked hesitantly.

"Sure," she said as she finally looked up at him. She didn't quite meet his eyes before she glanced back down at the school work.

"Oh, and we have practice after dinner," Scorpius reminded her. She looked back up and nodded once.

"I remember," she said.

* * *

Lily stood in front of her locker, wearing the tight under shirt and shorts while she dug around looking for her practice uniform. She found the pants first, stepping into them quickly and tying them at her waist. Scorpius glanced back at her while she swore quietly her back to him. She looked around her locker, on the floor, and under the pile of school clothes she had carried into the locker room from where had changed into her under Quidditch garments. She had opted to get black ones this year.

"Problem?" Scorpius asked her. Lily spun around, her hands on her hips.

"I can't find my practice top," Lily grumbled. Scorpius' corner tugged with the tiniest hint of a smiled.

"You're still a bit cranky. Tired?" he asked as he strolled over to her. She looked at him, her chin tilted up, and she smiled sarcastically.

"Have you seen my top, Score?" Lily said with a sarcastically sweet voice.

"Ooh, sickly sweet Lils is awesome," Scorpius teased as he reached into his locker. He handed her a shirt. "Just use one of my spares and I'll check with the house elves to see if they've seen it."

"Splendid," Lily quipped as she jerked the shirt on over her head. It was too large for her, but not swimmingly so. "Thankfully you try to show off those defined muscles of yours in too tight for you shirts. For once, it benefits me."

"For once?" Scorpius smirked.

"Come on, Captain," Lily said rolling her eyes as she strapped her safety gear on. "Let's practice."

Lily glared at Scorpius as he barked commands in her general direction, or at least where she had been before he started yelling. She was everywhere all over the sky, protecting all three chases while the newest beater acted like a completely ignorant prick, a cocky sixth year that had only placed because of his size and strength.

"You have no aim, Hill!" Lily shouted at him, red faced and sweaty in the still unseasonably warm air. It was already October and yet there seemed to be a bout of a heat wave.

"Malfoy, tell you little half-beater to shut the hell up," Hill shouted. Lily flew up to face him, not protecting any of the chasers.

"You shut the hell up," Lily snapped at him. "You may be a hard hitter, but you have no skill!"

"Shut up, Potter," Hill yelled at her, his face turning a dark red. They were face to face, angry before Lily growled and flew off, smacking one of the bludgers just seconds before it knocked Damon upside the head. She tried to ignore Hill but he kept getting in her way, or in the tail drag, which slowed her down.

"Knock it off," Lily snapped at him.

"Mass over mind," He laughed at her and he hit a bludger straight at her. She ducked quickly, rounding on him.

"What do you think you are doing?" Lily demanded.

"Trying to be a beater and not a ballerina, Princess Potter," Hill laughed. Lily hauled off and punched him in the face. Hill jumped from his broom on to her, knocking the both of them to the ground; luckily the fall was only a few feet. It was undignified and very un-Slytherin of both of them, scrapping like a bunch of school boys in the school yard. Hill got a few good punches in; completely unfazed by the fact that Lily was a girl. She in like broke his nose. Scorpius jerked them apart, thankfully stronger than he looked as he held the two apart.

"Lily, locker room now and get cleaned up," Scorpius barked. "Aiden, back in the air now and for Merlin's sake pick up the damn pace."

Lily stormed off the field, jerking the door to the locker room open with such force that it echoed like a gun shot over the pitch. She threw herself on to the bench and began jerking off her gear, throwing it like fast balls into her locker. She jerked her pants off, throwing them in the large cart and practically ripping the shirt from her body. She scooped up her clothes and headed to the shower as Scorpius stormed in there.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Scorpius demanded.

"I told you that I would try, but I can't play opposite next to Aiden Hill," Lily snapped as she stormed away. He followed her, not caring that she was in the girls' shower.

"You are not the only person on the team," Scorpius reminded her as he stood. She glared at him over her shoulder as she snapped the shower on in one of the vestibules. She dumped her clothes on the small bench.

"No, I'm not and I have tried to be understanding that Hill's not used to playing with the rest of us, however his superiority and attitude leave something to be desired," Lily said coolly as she pulled the elastic band out of her hair, shaking out the waves. She slipped her hand to check and adjust the water.

"You could say the same thing about your attitude, Lily," Scorpius said harshly. He looked at her, seeing her drenched in sweat, blood, and dirt. He sighed and stepped forward. "Let me take a look to make sure that you're not hurt."

"I'm fine," she snapped at him. This was not the same playful, almost shy Lily that Scorpius had spent the better part of his Hogsmead trip studying with just hours before.

"Still, it's either me or you're benched until someone checks you out," Scorpius said. Lily glared at him. She rolled her eyes and gestured rudely.

"Hill may be stronger, but I'm quicker," Lily said as she jerked off her undershirt, standing there in front of him in just a tiny sports bra. He hesitated, uncertain. She looked at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he mumbled as he continued forward. Aside from a few minor scrapes and probably a few bruised ribs, she was fine.

"You can't honestly be_ that_ embarrassed by me standing her in a sports bra," Lily smirked. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at him. "My bikini was smaller than this."

"Yeah," he said swallowing nervously. Lily laughed, but her laughter didn't quite sound right, not to him. He looked at her curiously and found her blushing under his indolent gaze. "I… I should get back to practice. Take off tonight and try to get some sleep."

"Not a chance in hell," she laughed as she disappeared behind the curtain. She dropped her clothes to the floor before Scorpius had even moved out of the girls' shower. He swallowed nervously and fought the urge to join her. He ran, full speed out of the locker room, disappointed that it did nothing to work off the excitement that boiled under his flesh. He sighed audibly as he hit the sky. At least he had her handwriting to look for, somewhere lost in his D.A.D.A. book… a hidden treasure for him to find.


	22. Straightened

A/N: This is actually my second attempt at this chapter. This occasionally happens. I will get X many pages into a chapter and realize it's not working… so I scrap it, add it to the notes page and possible pick it apart later. Let's see if we can cause a little drama here… enjoy. Oh, and I was being stalked by a completely new story, so I had to take a break and write the poor thing down. It's not HP, but I still added it to my site here. I figured a few of you might be like me and like _both_ series (HP and Twilight). Anyways… thanks for the reviews. And I've not even STARTED on chapter 23... just so you know... :)

Disc.: I created nothing more than the plot and some random characters, the rest are borrowed.

* * *

Straightened

She watched him from the corner of her eye as she ate her breakfast. She knew she should be focusing on the match that afternoon. She was still having issues with Hill, but they seemed to have faded slightly. She smiled. Everything eventually worked itself out. At least she hoped so. She was counting on the cosmos to balance out the crap she had been put through. She heard her name and she turned her head.

"Feeling good about today's game?" Shale asked her as he slipped into the seat next to her. She nodded.

"I always feel good about Quidditch," she replied brightly. She continued to eat her breakfast, looking at Scorpius more directly. He wasn't looking at her, but she could tell he was distracted. Worried. She had seen that look on his face that first time they saw each other, shortly after his Gran had brought her back early. Everyone carried that look on their face, to her horror.

_Lily had looked up from where she was sitting with James and Albus in the waiting room part of the critical curse unit at St. Mungo's. Scorpius and his father approached hurriedly. She had pulled her hands from her face, not crying but nearly there, and he was standing there with that gut-wrenching, horror struck face. She knew she could have been more embarrassed about the way she found herself that morning but instead she was grateful for those moments of peace._

_The calm before the storm._

_"How are you?" Scorpius whispered as he embraced her._

_"I'm… hanging in there," Lily mumbled. She reluctantly let him separate from her. He and James hugged, and that struck Lily as odd, even in these times. She sat back in her chair, and buried her face in her hands, holding her tears in. Her dad looked awful, like he was being slowly tortured and Lily knew that if she started to cry, and she very well felt like it, it would kill him. She had to be strong for him._

_"How's mom?" James asked, causing Lily to jerk up._

_"She's… alive," Harry said awkwardly. His tone was dull, tortured, and his eyes bright with unshed tears._

_"Can we see her?" Lily asked quickly drawing from this need to verify that her mother was indeed alive._

_"She's… she doesn't look well," Harry said after a few minutes of deliberation with his internal voice. Apparently gentle honesty had won out._

_"Please, Daddy," Lily said as her lips quivered. Harry cringed and nodded._

_"One at a time," Harry sighed. He looked at his three kids._

_"Go ahead first," James said nodding once at Lily, since she was already on her feet. She followed Harry through many locked doors until they came to a door. The fluorescent lights flickered randomly overhead and Harry stopped, looking at Lily._

_"I can't explain to you what happened, Lily," Harry said in a whisper. "It's just part of the job, unfortunately."_

_"The accident?" Lily asked nervously. Harry shook his head._

_"No, the job. Your mum and I, as well as a lot of people in our lines of work and departments, aren't allowed to speak of the jobs we do," Harry said quickly, his voice faint. He took a deep breath and looked at his youngest daughter. "I can't tell you what happened to your mother, what caused this. Even if I wanted to."_

_"What… even if you wanted to?" Lily asked. She frowned. "Why wouldn't you want to tell me?"_

_"You'll see," Harry said. "I don't even really want you to see, to be honest, but she's your mother and you deserve to see what's happened, I suppose."_

_Lily watched as her father punched a five digit code on a small key pad. Lily thought this was curious that he didn't use his wand, but remembered she didn't have hers on her, either. She had checked in with security before heading to the critical curse unit, as had everyone else. He held the door open and Lily walked in first, the room dark without windows. The furniture was bolted down. Ginny was laying on the bed, thick straps restraining her. Lily glanced at her father, to find that look of worry on her father's face._

_"Mum," Lily asked quietly as she brushed her fingers against Ginny's cool skin. Ginny looked at Lily, her eyes wide. "Mum it's me, Lily."_

_Ginny opened her mouth slowly, her face slowly morphed from peaceful to one full of great agony and screamed. Lily stepped back as Ginny thrashed about, her eyes darting to her father with great horror. Harry slid over to Ginny's side, his hands locking to hold her down._

_"What's wrong with her?" Lily asked panicked._

_"Part of the side effects," Harry yelled over Ginny's shrieks. Lily shrunk back against the wall, trembling as she listened to the horrible screams. Lily tried to look away from her mother's face but her gaze was fixed on the woman's twisted and tortured face. Lily held her breath, forcing her hands over her ears as she tried to block out her mother's shrieks and screams. Muffled but not blocked out, Lily fought against her tears and clenched her eyes closed._

_"LILY! JUST GO!" Harry shouted at her over his shoulder. He looked to see her still standing there and released Ginny, who immediately began thrashing about violently as if she was trying to escape from her skin. He grabbed Lily by the shoulders and guided her out the door. Once the door was shut, silence surrounded Lily. Harry looked through the small plate glass window._

_"Lily, honey, are you ok?" Harry asked alarmed. Lily looked up at him in horror._

_"How long until… how long…" Lily couldn't form a sentence, the echo of her mother's screams ringing in her ears._

_"They don't know," Harry said. "They don't know how long until it becomes overbearing… no overwhelming… to her and she… goes…"_

_"Goes? Is there no hope?" Lily begged. Harry looked at his youngest hopelessly and worried._

_"They think the end will come quickly for her," Harry said barely louder than a whisper. He looked at the way the tears threatened to spill from her wide eyes, but she took a few gulps of breath and closed her eyes a moment, fighting it._

_She would cry, she knew it, but her father needed her to be strong since he was struggling. She could see that. Lily was like her mother, strong, and Harry was not, not this way after already losing so many people in his life. He looked like he was falling apart at the seams. She threw her arms around him quickly, her voice calmer than he had ever heard it before._

_"Daddy, no matter what, everything will be ok," Lily said quietly to him. Lily bit back the sob that threatened to escape. "I'll take care of whatever needs to be done."_

_James had to have already seen Ginny, Lily decided, as had Albus. They had a worried, almost apologetic look on their faces as they saw Lily return. By then, they would have already passed the information along to Mr. Malfoy and Scorpius. Harry had debated not having Hermione call, but she had convinced him that Lily had a right to see her mother and to know as much as she was allowed to know. They thought that Ginny's time left would be painfully short. Lily had tears in her eyes, still unshed, as she ran into Scorpius' arms. He patted her back, comforting her, and Lily held on to her tears. She swore she'd never cry in front of them. Her mother needed her to be strong. Lily would have to take her mother's place and care for the house and the family._

"I want a clean game out there," Professor Wood demanded as he blew his whistle. Lily took the skies quickly, rising like a cork in a bottle of soda, circling her team's three chasers, her team's keep, and occasionally knocking a bludger away from the seeker. She didn't focus on Hill or the score, only keeping the team safe. It seemed as quickly as it had started, it was over. Slytherin had won by fifty. Lily barely acknowledged the end of the game until Damon threw his arm over her shoulder cheering.

"You were like a machine out there, Lily," he shouted loudly over the cheers. "I swear, I think you might have cracked one of the bludgers."

"Better the bludger than your face," Lily laughed, snapping out of her Quidditch induced trance. She grinned at him. "That little dip roll thing you did to snatch the Quaffle was fantastic."

"You like that, eh?" Damon laughed as Scorpius came up to them. He turned to Scorpius. "Lily liked the West Roll, Scorpius."

"Sounds like a sandwich," Scorpius said smirking. "Is that what you've decided to name it?"

"It's a cute name," Lily laughed. Damon pretended to pout.

"It's not meant to be cute," he said. They all laughed. Lily landed gracefully on the ground, immediately swallowed by a set of arms.

"Shale!" she said surprised.

"You were awesome out there!" He cheered loudly. He released her and laughed.

"Thanks," she said grinning.

"I swear, you were in the zone," Shale said. "That was awesome! Helluva win!"

"What can I say?" Lily said blushing under his praise.

"I'm so glad you decided to stick with the team this year," Shale said hugging her one last time. "Whew, girl, you are stinky and sweaty. Hit the showers so we can celebrate."

"I don't stink," Lily frowned, sniffing her arms. She laughed.

"Well, no," he admitted grinning. "I'll see you back at the common room."

"See you then," Lily said as she followed Scorpius into the locker room. The noise in there was deafening, even though there were only seven players in the room. Lily hugged and was hugged by several players at once, the excitement of their win contagious. She threw her arms around Scorpius' neck without thought, kissing his cheek.

"We did do pretty awesome," Scorpius said, chuckling as Lily tried to pull away. His arms had wrapped instinctively around her. She laughed not really trying too hard to pull away.

"I'm glad I decided to grace your team, Captain, with my presence," Lily teased as she squeezed him again. He laughed and released her, letting skip off to the showers. As the only girl on the team this year, she had more than enough hot water and laughed when the boys' complained that they had run out, their voices carrying over the sounds of the shower.

Lily buttoned her jeans just as someone called out into the shower room.

"Lily, damn it, I'm coming in," Scorpius said angrily. "And I'm bringing Damon. Someone used up all the hot water on our side and we need hot water." Lily quickly jerked a shirt on over her head as the stepped into view.

"Not much warning, eh?" Lily laughed as she pulled her socks and shoes on.

"You'll live," Scorpius said crankily as he turned the water on. Damon smiled apologetically at Lily.

"Hill used up the last of the hot water on our side," he said. Lily laughed and tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper.

"Enjoy the hot water," Lily laughed as she walked out of the showers. Hill was at his locker, his back to her.

"Good game, Potter," he said turning to face her. "I was surprised, honestly, but I shouldn't have been. You've been training hard and you have great skill."

"Gee… thanks, Hill," Lily said uncertainly. The sixth year boy laughed and stood, slamming his locker.

"See you at the party," he said as he exited. Lily shook her head and straightened up her locker as Damon and Scorpius came out of the showers, towels around their waists. Lily felt her face get really red and Damon laughed.

"I'm decent enough," he said as his hand loosely held the towel. He threatened to drop his hand and Lily laughed, covering her eyes.

"I don't need to see that," Lily laughed.

"Knock it off, Damon," Scorpius growled at him. Lily blushed harder as she peeked between her fingers, suddenly curious. Scorpius was looking at her, his expression unreadable.

"I… I'll catch you two later," Lily said as she quickly shut her locker.

"The celebratory party," Scorpius said. Lily nodded quickly, a smile on her face and heat in her cheeks. She was careful to keep her eyes on his face. He laughed and she bolted out of the locker room.

* * *

The Slytherin room was a lot more festive than Lily remembered her first victory party being. Before it was constrained and uptight, this go-round the party was much more relaxed. Lily was immediately embraced by all of her fellow fifth years, kisses passed along the cheeks and cheers. Lily and Kate hung around each other, talking with Nina and Callie about things that were boring to the boys. Even Shale, who seemed pretty determined to hang all over Lily for the better part of the party made himself scarce as the girls grabbed a few drink and snacks and found a nice little nook in the common room.

"So, Lily," Kate said smirking, her voice rather low compared to the way she normally talked. The three others leaned forward. "Have you decided what you're going to do about your boy-crush?"

"No," Lily said rolling her eyes.

"You shouldn't lead Shale on," Nina said crossing her arms. Lily looked at her apologetically. She knew that Nina had a thing for Shale.

"I promise, I'm not trying to," Lily said. "I really only want to be friends with him."

"Well, I don't think the feeling is mutual," Nina mumbled. Lily bit her bottom lip, but knew that she couldn't deny it. Shale had seemed to become a little more interested in her this year. Granted they were prefects together, so that might not have helped thing.

"I'll figure a way out of this," Lily said as she crossed her own arms, leaning back and surveying the room. Her eyes fell on Shale, standing by Zane. He glanced over at her and tapped his watch, causing Lily to roll her eyes and push off of the arms of the chair.

"Happy patrolling," Nina grumbled.

"I'll talk you up," Lily said quickly. "Until I figure out how to make my point clear."

"Good luck with that," Kate said rolling her eyes. "It took me the better part of the Spring to get it through to him that I was done with him."

"Don't be unkind," Callie said shaking her head. "You can't blame him for wanting to hang on to you. You guys were so cute. Who would have guessed you'd flitter from boy to boy every time the wind changes direction."

"It was not that often," Kate said. She looked at Lily meaningfully. "Have you talked to your brother yet?"

"Not yet," Lily said. "But I will."

"You'd better," Kate said. Lily stuck her tongue out at Kate and headed through the throngs of people milling about, congratulating her for the awesome playing during the game. She nearly slipped by Scorpius, who didn't seem so happy.

"Bailing already?" He asked her sourly as he leaned forward, his mouth near her ear so she could hear him over the music that played near by. She held up her wrist, touching the dial.

"Patrolling with Zabini," Lily said loudly.

"You want me to take it for you?" Scorpius asked as he looked up at the impatiently waiting Shale. Lily shook her head and leaned in, standing on her tiptoes.

"I've got it. Plus you look like hell," she said in his ear. "Have you been sleeping?"

"Meh, some," he joked tiredly.

"You need to try more," she told him as she brushed her lips across his cheek without a second thought. He looked at her in slight amusement.

"Yeah, that'll help, Lils," he laughed. She blushed, shrugging and trotted off to join Shale. The two of them left the party for patrol.

"So… you and Scorpius?" Shale asked slightly miffed. Lily shook her head slightly.

"No, not yet," she said quietly.

"You know… if you're lonely or scared or something, I'm here for you," he said quietly as he took her hand. She pulled her hand out of his.

"You know, Nina in my dorm is really into…" Lily started talking. Shale listened, his hands by his side as he listened.

"Lily," Shale said as he stopped her.

"Yes, Shale," Lily said looking at him in surprise.

"I don't like Nina," he said shaking his head. "She's not my type."

"Why not? She's cute, smart, funny…" Lily started in again.

"Well, because I like you," Shale mumbled. His cheeks were pink. Lily looked at him, her eyebrows raised. He looked at her. "Say something."

"You know I don't like you like that, Shale," Lily said sympathetically as she shoved her hands into her pockets. He grinned half hearted.

"I know," he said. "You made that kind of clear first year… but then third year… there, for a moment I thought that maybe things had changed. Then you went away for the summer holiday, and that thing with your mom, and hell Lily, why not?"

"Shale," Lily said in shock by his sudden anger.

"Look, Lily, how come it can't be my turn?" he asked her. The anger was immediately replaced with an almost desperate begging. Lily was taken aback.

"I don't know," Lily said.

"It's stupid Malfoy, isn't it?" he asked angrily. "It's not fair. He could have had you at any point for the last five years. If he wanted you, don't you think he'd already have said something?"

"That's unkind, Shale," Lily said looking rather hurt.

"I know, but think about it," Shale said quickly. "Don't you think he'd have acted already if he wanted to be with you? What guy wouldn't have snatched you up already?"

"I… I don't know," Lily said defeated.

"So you are waiting around for him," Shale confirmed quietly.

"Yeah," she said.

"You know that's stupid, right? Guys only want what they can't have," Shale said. Lily made a noise of disgust and a face.

"Does that apply to you, as well?" She asked.

"No," Shale said. "I wasn't lying when I said that I like you. I do. I have since… for a while."

"This is uncomfortable," Lily mumbled. Shale laughed.

"I think you and I should try," he said taking her hand again. "You never know, maybe he'll realize you what he wants when you're no longer an option."

"I'm not using you to get Scorpius," Lily said disgusted as she pulled her hand free.

"I don't mind," Shale said.

"I do," Lily snapped.

"Damn, are you acting kind of bitchy at the moment," Shale said crossing his arms. Lily looked at him furiously. He immediately regretted his choice of words, softening his glare. "Look, I didn't mean it that way, Lily. I just think you're wasting your time on someone who has had more than his share of opportunity, and still he threw them away."

"Maybe he just hasn't realized it," Lily said hopefully through her clenched teeth. Shale shook his head.

"He knows what he wants, all guys usually do," Shale said. "He's gone next year. His time is up. Then what? Will you wait until you head off to university? Will you follow him?"

"I haven't thought that far," Lily said.

"You need to know, people like Malfoy don't stay single or faithful very long," Shale said bitterly. "I know for a fact that his grandfather had several extramarital affairs throughout his marriage."

"What does his grandfather's unfaithfulness have to do with anything?" Lily asked. Shale shrugged.

"Do you really want to be associated with the grandson, raised with those kinds of morals?" Shale asked as he stepped closer to her.

"Please," Lily smirked. "What Lucius Malfoy is capable of, was capable of, has no bearing on me."

"Think it over," Shale said bitterly. "I would make you happy."

"Shale, I like having you as a friend," Lily said finally. "But that is all we will ever be. Why don't you try to date Nina? I bet you and she would have a great time."

"You're a pain in the arse, you know?" Shale laughed after a second. "I'm not quite giving up on you yet, but tell me again about Nina. I know she's your dorm mate, but what is she like? Please tell me she more sane than Kate. Kate was… just… weird."

"Nina's a good girl," Lily started and the two of them finished up their patrolling together. Shale yawned a few times on their way back.

"Aren't you tired?" he asked. Lily nodded.

"But I won't go to sleep for a while longer," Lily said.

"The nightmares?" he asked. She shrugged, not really sure what to call them.

"They're manageable," she said.

"What helps?" he asked. Lily looked at Shale uncertainly.

"Eh," Lily said as she quickly looked away. He shrugged.

"Don't tell me then," he replied. "But I can't offer my help, as your friend, if you don't open up to me."

"I want to," Lily promised. She shoved her hands back into her pockets. "It's just hard to."

"You know I won't laugh," Shale promised.

"I know," she sighed. She followed him into the common room.

"Well, my dorm door is always open, should you need me," he offered. He nodded at her once and walked away. Lily sighed and turned around, heading back out of the common room. She took off down the hall way, heading up to the seventh floor. Easily, she found the room of requirement. It was waiting for her, like it had every night since school started. She glanced around, loving its familiarity.

"Lily?" a voice inquired from behind her. She jumped startled to find Scorpius standing behind her. "Why… why does the room of requirement look like your bedroom?"

"It is my bedroom, sort of," Lily said. Her eyes narrowed. "Did you follow me?"

"I was curious where you were going in such a hurry after abandoning Shale in the common room," Scorpius said as he walked around, touching various things. He looked at her. "Do you mind me being here, touching these things?"

"It's not really my room," she said. He nodded, giving her a look. She sighed as he continued to look at her. "It's so I don't bother my roommates."

"Bother them?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"I whine, fuss, you know… _the usual_… in my sleep," Lily said.

"No wonder you look tired a lot," Scorpius teased lightly. He laughed. "I talk a lot in my sleep."

"I've… heard," Lily mumbled as her face turned a little pink in the dimly lit room.

"You heard?" He asked slightly bemused. "When?"

"Um… well, when we were on holiday," Lily said as she sat down on a chair. Scorpius looked at the chair, seeing it was familiar, just not one from her room.

"I talked then?" he asked warily. A slight stain crept across Lily's face and she nodded. "What about?"

"I can't be entirely sure," Lily mumbled as she looked towards a fire that had sprung up in one of the hearths, warming the room. He blushed harder, only barely imagining what kinds of things he'd talk about with Lily being so close that he could practically feel her.

"Does the room change this much when you're in here alone?" Scorpius asked distractedly as he pondered the things he could have probably talked about in his sleep.

"Not really," she said. "It's going to continue to change to suite our needs."

"Our needs?" he asked unable to hide his surprise.

"It'll self correct until it serves the needs of all people in the room," she said quietly. "The magic of the room."

"I'd guess these would be your pajamas, then?" Scorpius asked pointing to a neatly piled outfit. Lily looked at them and shook her head.

"Not mine," she said. He looked at them closer.

"Mine?"

"Apparently the room thinks you're staying with me or the house elves do… I'm not sure how it works," Lily murmured. He looked at her curiously.

"I'm staying?" he asked. She didn't reply, just kept her distance. He looked at her, suddenly very tired and warm. This room was much warmer than the dungeon. He yawned. "Would you mind very much if I stayed?"

"Not very much," Lily admitted hesitantly. She added with a small smile, "You, however, might not get much sleep with me acting up and out in my sleep. That's why it was recommended that I sleep here, so my dorm mates can get some sleep."

"I've woken my own dorm mates enough with my dreams," Scorpius said as he casually started to get dressed in the clothes. Lily averted her eyes and pulled on her pajamas, careful not to be too exposed.

"Well, you can't say that I didn't warn you," Lily said as the lights dimmed to darkness. The only light in the room was from the fireplace. She pulled back the familiar comforter and climbed underneath. She felt the bed shift next to her as he repeated the same action. "I'm not going to get you in trouble, am I?"

"You worry too much, Lily," he laughed quietly. She heard him take a deep breath. "So, is it night terrors or something?"

"No," Lily admitted in a whispered voice. "Just restlessness… I see my mum's face in that twisted and painful agony, like I saw on her face that first time I saw her after the accident. My dreams are just of me trying to help her and my failing. They not horrifying, just bothersome."

"Was it hard?" Scorpius asked hesitantly as his hand found hers.

"Taking care of her every moment I wasn't here? No. She's my mother. I owed her that much," Lily said quietly.

"Did you ever cry?" he wondered aloud.

"Between you and I?" she murmured sleepily. "Yeah, I did. But only when no one was around. My father and brothers needed me to be strong otherwise they'd have lost it, but with me being strong, they could be strong, too."

"No one ever expects you to be strong all the time, Lils," Scorpius said as her body fit against his. Her lips brushed against his upper arm as she spoke, sending thrilling little chills to the center of his being.

"It helped everyone involved to have me be strong," Lily said sleepily. She tilted her head back, trying to see his face in the glow of the fireplace.

"You know, I've still not found that page," Scorpius said. "The one you wrote on in my book."

"I figured as much," Lily murmured watching his face sleepily.

"You did?" he asked lightly. His nose was nearly touching hers as her eyes drooped slightly as they rested there, beside each other.

"Mhmm," Lily said as her eyes closed and didn't open. "You're still here."

"Of course I am," he breathed slightly confused. He listened as Lily's breath became deep and even. Her tenseness seemed to fade and she turned away from him, letting her whole body go limp with exhaustion. Scorpius rested his face against her neck and sleep quickly found him too.


	23. Room of Requirement

AN: Ok, this chapter is painfully short compared to my normal 5-8k word chapters, but since it's been about a week since I updated, I figure you guys deserve a little chapter read. I finished that really short story that was haunting me and I'm nearly done with my Exam 3 for Biology. I took a break to write this. I also moved and am settling in to my new room. It's been interesting. Anyways, here's a very short chapter 23. Comments welcome…

Disc.: Credit is given where credit is due.

* * *

Room of Requirement

Lily's first sensation of waking wasn't one of cold sweats from nightmares or night terrors that plagued her but of a warm hand on the small of her back and the rise and fall of breath that tickled her face. She slowly pulled her eyes open and groaned. Loudly. She tried to move her arms and legs, but she was tangled with his, face to face, except for the one hand pressing into the small of her back, pressing her against him quite intimately. She sighed.

_'What have I done?'_ she thought. He mumbled something, something that sort of sounded like her name and she felt her face go up in flames. This was not happening! He was dreaming about her and saying her name, meanwhile continuing to cling to her like a life vest in the middle of a sea. Lily blushed, her own body seemingly hell bent on clinging to him in the same manner.

"Lily," he breathed and she stiffened. His eyes were still closed and she prayed he was having some sort of dream that didn't include them really laying this close to each other. He pulled her closer, held her tighter and buried his face into her neck. She tensed up, feeling him. _All of him._

"Scorpius, please wake up," she groaned, horribly embarrassed by his obvious _condition_. He slowly opened his eyes, uncertain if he was still dreaming. They were lying uncomfortably close and immediately he was too aware of what he was feeling. His own face flushed red and he pushed away from her, which to Lily felt a little like him pushing her away. She nearly fell out of the bed.

"I…" Scorpius stated uncomfortably. He spent a few seconds lying on his back, eyes clenched closed as he collected himself. His eyes snapped open. "Only a dream."

Lily could only guess that was what he said, she couldn't be sure. His voice had been quiet as he quickly dressed in his school clothes, her own actions almost in the same embarrassed, hurried way. The two barely glanced at each other as they headed off in two different directions, Lily to breakfast and Scorpius back to the Slytherin common room.

The dream had been wonderful. Even at the very moment he was running, running from her, he couldn't help but think of it in all of its glory and wonderfulness. His face blazed red with pleasure and excitement, wondering if it could possibly be a prophetic dream or not. He could still taste her from his dream, and it was just as wonderful as the times he had kissed her in real life. He nearly ran Damon down.

"Man, what happened to you last night," Damon asked as he turned Scorpius around. "C'mon we're going to be late for breakfast."

"I…" Scorpius said as Damon directed him back the way he had come.

"Look, where ever you went, I don't mind, but next time, could you tell me so I don't have to worry?" Damon asked. Scorpius looked at him, confused.

"Worried?" Scorpius laughed. Damon laughed along with him.

"Not so much worried as… well, _curious_," Damon said. The two looked up as they walked in the Great Hall. Scorpius' eyes fell on Lily immediately as Shale brushed past him and took the seat directly across from Lily. Lily looked up at him, grinning. Scorpius watched her a moment. Damon looked at Lily then at Scorpius, grinning.

"What?" Scorpius said as he suppressed his smile. Damon shook his head.

"You're a mess," Damon said shaking his head. The two sat down in their usual spots, Lily glancing up as they sat. A hint blush stained her cheeks.

"So, Hogsmead?" Shale asked Lily. Scorpius glanced at Shale as Lily's eyes fell on him. She smiled and nodded.

"That's perfect, Shale," Lily said as she took a bite of her toast.

"You're the best Lily," Shale laughed as he scooped more porridge into his mouth. Lily rolled her eyes but still grinned.

"You're welcome," Lily said as she gathered her bag. Her eyes fell on Scorpius for a moment before she left the Great Hall for classes.

* * *

"I have to study," Scorpius complained to Damon as an excuse not to have to go to Hogsmead. He knew it sounded pretty pathetic and weak, but he didn't want to risk running into Lily and Shale. It would have taken a very dense blind man to see that Shale was attracted to Lily, even if Lily couldn't see it. Scorpius couldn't harbor ill feelings toward the boy. Lily was very attractive.

Still, as much as he rather do anything other than study, he didn't want to see either of them having a great time together in Hogsmead. Scorpius couldn't forgive himself for not acting sooner and he knew it was too late. He escaped a rather disappointed Damon and headed to the library, at least to make good on a little bit of his lie. He didn't have to study, but he would.

He glanced around the library, looking for a place to sit and pretend to study. Most of the tables were filled with the younger year students who couldn't go to Hogsmead. There wasn't a spare chair anywhere. He headed toward the restricted section, knowing that usually there was a table or two that normally only sat two people. Most people avoided these tables for the fact that they couldn't cram all of their friends at them. He spotted the empty chair before he spotted the fort of books. He slipped soundlessly into the chair, pulling out one of his text books.

He cracked it open, looking at the page. His ears picked up the sound of a familiar song being hummed, muffled and light. He grinned confused as he looked at the back pack resting against the leg of the small table. He needn't see its owner to know who it belonged to. The music alone would have told him as much as actually seeing her face.

"I thought you were going to Hogsmead with Shale," Scorpius said in a voice over a whisper. Lily laughed quietly, pushing aside one of the books she was hiding behind.

"You shouldn't eavesdrop," Lily said. She grinned at him. "Shale is meeting up with Nina in Hogsmead."

"I thought he liked you," Scorpius commented. Lily smiled.

"Just because someone likes me doesn't mean I have to like them back," Lily said.

"So, what kept you from Hogsmead?" Scorpius asked. Lily smirked and sat up straighter, pointing at the books around her.

"What else?" Lily said.

"Ah, O.W.L.s are coming up at the end of the year for you, aren't they?" Scorpius asked. Lily laughed at him.

"And you with your N.E.W.T.s, studying no less," Lily said as she flipped open the book she had in front of her.

"Ugh, yeah," Scorpius said smiling weakly. "I have to get decent marks otherwise my dad's going to have a conniption."

"Yeah," Lily said rolling her eyes. "Like you need to study much. I've seen your grades."

"When?" Scorpius asked as he leaned back a little in his chair.

"Um… when I've helped the teachers out," Lily said shrugging. Scorpius snickered.

"You are such a teacher's pet," Scorpius teased. Lily rolled her eyes at him and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I can't help it that I am who the professors go to when they need help," Lily said. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. Lily looked back at the book.

"Sorry for running out on you," Scorpius said suddenly. Lily glanced up, a hint of color on her cheeks.

"No problem," Lily mumbled. She turned back to her books and Scorpius watched her for a moment. A strand of her hair fell into her face and absentmindedly, she blew a puff of air to move it. It fell into her face again after a moment and she repeated the action. After the third time, Scorpius reached across the small table and tucked the hair behind her ear. She looked up at him, blushing.

"Do you really need to study?" he asked. "We still have months until the exams, after all." She shrugged.

"Why do you ask?" she questioned.

"I just… wanted to know if you could play for me," he asked slowly. "You know, the piano?"

"Now?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Lily hesitated. "Please?"

"S-sure," Lily stammered as she gathered up her armload of book.

"Where should we go?" Scorpius asked as he took her books from her. Lily shrugged.

"The room of requirement?" Lily suggested. Scorpius laughed.

"You are always trying to get me in your bed, Lily Potter," Scorpius teased. Lily blushed.

"No, I'm not," Lily mumbled. Scorpius laughed as the two of them headed towards the seventh floor and the room of requirement.

* * *

Scorpius was surprised that the room didn't look like Lily's bedroom from the night before. Instead there were huge, comfy sofas near a roaring fire and a large grand piano. The wood was dark, shiny, and Lily could see her reflection in the surface. She hesitated to touch it.

"This is ten times better than our old upright that I learned to play on," Lily breathed. "This room really does give you what you want and need."

"You like the piano?" Scorpius asked smiling.

"Yeah," Lily grinned at him. "I've been trying to talk my dad into getting me one, but our house really is too small for one this size. When I get my own place, I am so buying one."

"Yeah?" Scorpius said throwing himself into a very comfortable position on the sofa to the side of the piano. "So, have you already figured out where you will live when you get out of school?"

"Not yet," Lily admitted as she sat down on the bench. Their books lay forgotten on a table nearby. "I still have two more years here."

"Will you see the world after graduation?" Scorpius asked. Lily shook her head.

"No," Lily said simply.

"Why not?" Scorpius asked. "It's like a tradition. I know James was saying that he's planning on a safari in Africa and some traipsing through the jungles of the Amazon after school."

"James and I are different people," Lily reminded him. "We've grown closer but we still want different things out of life. Traveling the world, that an Auror thing. No wonder you and James don't always get along. You're just alike."

"So no breaks for you, then?" Scorpius asked.

"No," Lily said simply. Scorpius frowned for a moment. He suppressed his dislike at the idea and instead changed the subject back.

"So, what will your famed perfect place look like?" Scorpius asked. Lily's face brightened up.

"Mind if I play while I talk?" she asked quickly, looking longingly at the beautiful instrument. Scorpius waved his hand dismissively and Lily turned to the instrument. She let her fingers work mindlessly while she talked, the notes ringing out clearly. "I want to lease a loft with a wall full of windows to let in a lot of afternoon sunlight. In the middle of my loft, I want one of these beauties in the middle."

"Nothing else?" Scorpius asked. Lily shrugged.

"The rest are just minor details," Lily said.

"No pets? No husband? No kids?" Scorpius asked raising his eyebrow at her. Lily made a face and shook her head.

"Asher was the only pet I ever wanted. When he disappeared, I knew I never own another pet," Lily said. "And I definitely don't want kids."

"Hm…" Scorpius said as he leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling, deep in thought. Lily continued to play, first the song from her locket, her most favorite piece to play, followed by a few classics, and then something a little louder, harsher. Scorpius sat up looking at her. "What is that song?"

"This one?" Lily asked as she beat out the notes on the keyboard.

"Yeah," Scorpius said. She grinned.

"It's called '_Faint_'," Lily said. "It's actually a rock song from a few decades ago. Not really a piano piece, but I was listening to my dad's old CD's and this was the back beat. I fell in love with it, so I learned how to play it."

"It's… interesting," Scorpius said. Lily nodded.

"So, what about you?" Lily said.

"No, I don't know how to play this song," Scorpius teased. Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, I plan on traveling for a few years when I leave here, to see the world, and then I guess I'll settle down and start my training at the ministry under our fathers."

"So, you want to follow in their footsteps?" Lily asked as she pushed away from the piano. She took a seat on the other end of the sofa. He turned to her, watching her a moment before he shrugged.

"Our fathers work honorably," Scorpius said. "It's enough."

"Ministry work," Lily murmured. Scorpius laughed as he scooted closer to her. He laughed.

"So, you're serious about this Healer thing, huh?" he asked. Lily nodded as she tucked her legs under her. She smoothed her skirt down against her thighs.

"I know a lot of people doubted that I'd want to, you know, after spending every break there with my mom but it really reinforced my desire to help people," Lily said. She smiled. "I think that my being there really eased her there in the end." Scorpius watched her carefully, expecting Lily to burst into tears but instead she took a shaky breath and smiled.

"I did worry a lot about you then," Scorpius said. "I still do." Lily looked at him in surprise.

"I promise, I'm ok," Lily said. He nodded.

"You look tired. How've you been sleeping? Truthfully," Scorpius asked. Lily smiled.

"Decently enough, actually," she said shrugging. She looked back at him. "It was easier that night, to be honest."

"Yeah?" he said, needing no further clarification. He was aware of the change in his dreams the night they had innocently shared a bed. He had to admit that it was one of the best nights of sleep he had in ages. He was deep in thought and didn't realize that Lily had scooted closer until her knee brushed against him as she reached forward, touching his face.

"You look so tired, Score," Lily said concerned. Her fingertips were light on his skin and he shivered.

"I'll live," Scorpius said as he brushed her hands off his face. She nodded.

"Have you found it yet?" Lily asked. Scorpius shook his head.

"I'm starting to think you didn't actually write anything," Scorpius said gesturing at the book that was spread open in his lap. Lily laughed and scooped up the book. She paced in front of the sofa, flipping through the pages.

"I wrote something," Lily said devilishly. She pouted. "I'd have thought that you would've found it by now."

"Nope," Scorpius said crossing his arms and watching her, amused. Lily rolled her eyes and flipped to the part of his text book. She stepped away from him, holding the book up.

"See," Lily said as she flashed the page at him. He could see her neat handwriting, unable to read it from that distance. He broke into a smile and jumped up, reaching for the book. She snapped it closed and ran from him. Scorpius was quicker and he tackled her, the two of them falling into some squishy bean bag chairs that had appeared. She laughed as she struggled to hold the book from him.

He kissed her. It wasn't planned and neither had expected it, but she lay under him on the bean bag chair, holding the book in her hand as far from him as possible and somehow, he kissed her. Their eyes shot open wide with surprise and Lily dropped the book, the dull thud reverberating for a second. Lily's hands found their way to his face, her fingers linking behind his head. She closed her eyes closed. Scorpius closed his eyes too, kissing her deeper. He gathered her up against him, changing their positions so that he was pressing her into the bean bag.

He pulled away from her slightly, looking up at her. She smiled at him almost shyly and he felt his mouth drawn to hers again, an assault on each other's senses. He felt himself losing his head as he deepened their kiss, clinging to her life she was the very thing that kept him alive. The two pulled back suddenly, as if they were charged.

"Wow," Scorpius said as Lily stood and crossed quickly to the other side of the room. She looked at him uncertainly as she bit her bottom lip and turned her attention to the fire.

"Yeah," Lily breathed.

"I guess I should question you more often, huh?" He said. Lily didn't reply, just continued to look at the fireplace. He felt the smile slip from his face and he crossed to the sofa, sitting next to her sideways to face her. He touched her arm, causing her head to jerk in his direction. "Lily, I'm sorry if I crossed the line there with you."

"It's not that," Lily said shaking her head slowly. She bit her lip again, focusing on the fire intently.

"Will you tell me about it?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him for a moment, her eyes holding his for a second. She forced a smile and shook her head.

"It's nothing," Lily said. She took a deep breath, calming her racing hormones. "Shall I play a bit more for you?"

"Will you show me how to play?" he asked her suddenly. Lily smiled slightly, the smile barely reaching her eyes.

"Sure," she said as she stood and walked to the piano. He sat on the bench next to her. "What do you want to learn?"

"How about that song you played, the one that's not really piano music," he suggested. She shrugged.

"Sure," she said and the two of them did their best to not think about it and pretend that the kiss had never happened. They failed epically.

**Footnote**_**:**__ The song Lily was playing is called Faint by Linkin Park. I found an instrumental version of it for the piano and it was fantastic. Anyways, here's the version. I could picture Lily playing it: __http : / uk . youtube . com / watch ? v - U3PO5 - tvLM__ (remove the spaces to go there) Enjoy! (Oh, and I am in the US, even though Youtube thinks I'm in the UK. Silly Youtube.)_


	24. Teammates

A/N: Thank you all for taking the time to read and review. I do appreciate it. I really do. As you will see, this is closer to my normal length chapters, and I hope you enjoy it. I know I did until… well… you'll see. And yes… this chapter we finally get to see what Lily wrote. Hope it doesn't disappoint. I'll stop rambling and let you read… and review. Thank you all again so much for making this as successful as it is.

Disc.: I created the plot. That's something.

* * *

Teammates

It had been two weeks since they kissed in the room of requirement, since he had seen that she had really written in his book. He had spent the better part of that time hunting for her words, failing every night. Then, two nights prior, he was in his bed, blanket over his head and he flipped to the next page, the last page he'd look at that night before he turned in to go to sleep. Yawning and eyes burning, he looked at the chapter title: _Amortentia Potions and their Uses in Dark Magic_. There, he saw it and his heart stopped. The words were eloquently written, her hand writing perfect and the message clear.

Scorpius sat in the middle of the common room, the book open in his lap. He knew Damon was talking to him about strategy about the upcoming Quidditch match against Gryffindor, but Scorpius didn't hear him. He kept reading what Lily wrote, over and over as if he was reading it for the first time. When he would finish, he'd look up to process it but found himself unable to when his eyes would land on her. She was sitting in his line of sight, so his eyes always landed on her.

She was beautiful.

He had always known it, but it was as if before he was seeing her in a dimly lit room, aware of her beauty but still not fully able to see her for her all. The words changed it all. The words were the light flooding the room so that he could see her for what she truly was: the love of his life. She was sitting with other fifth year students, studying. She'd make little movements, absentmindedly tucking her hair behind her ear, biting her lip, raising her eyebrows or crinkling her nose. Each movement was recorded in his memory.

"Dude, are you listening to me?" Damon asked Scorpius quietly. Scorpius looked at Damon, a bit startled. Damon grinned.

"Sorry, man," Scorpius said shrugging. Damon laughed.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Damon suggested.

"I will," Scorpius said. He looked down at the words, reading them slowly in his mind. He could hear her voice caressing his mind as he read.

_For five years, I have loved you, and for most of those years I have been seen by you as too young. One day, I hope to show you that I am ready, when you are ready to accept that I very well could be the one for you. We go back and forth on this, I'm too young, and then I'm not, to be placed again as too young. It doesn't change the fact that I fell in love with you that first time I really met you, when you helped me with my luggage on the train my first year and it won't change ever. I can wait until we are on the same page; I just hope you won't make me wait forever. Remember girls mature two years ahead of boys. We were always in the same maturity stage of life, even if you haven't been able to see it. I hope you come to your senses sooner rather than later. Love, Lily. PS. My Amortentia Potion smells like you. Isn't that funny, being that yours smells like me? Must be fate. _

Scorpius grinned at her last line, and couldn't help but mentally run down every kiss that had led up to their last kiss in the room of requirement. It was as if snapshots of their time together played quickly in his mind. He felt his body stirring, aching for her. He worried that others could tell but he knew that the only one who was aware of his condition was himself. He looked up at Lily. She looked up at that very moment, their eyes meeting. She smiled slightly confused at the look on Scorpius' face.

She couldn't determine if he was happy or frustrated or in pain. She looked up to see him sitting, listening to Damon and a quick succession of emotion crossed his face. He fidgeted a little, drawing his text book closer to him. She had been stealing looks at him for the better part of an hour, wondering what had him running the emotional rollercoaster like that. Then she caught his eye, or perhaps he caught hers and she couldn't look away. His eyes seemed to be trying to convey a message to her, though she wasn't sure of the message.

"So, this is boring," Shale moaned as he flipped through his potions book.

"You wanted my help," Lily reminded him.

"We still have months before testing," Shale whined. Lily laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, go," Lily sighed shaking her head. Shale whooped loudly, taking Nina by the hand and leading her out of the common room. Lily and Kate giggled at their excitement.

"You did a good thing hooking those two up," Kate said. "They are perfect for each other."

"Mhmm," Lily agreed as she turned her attention back to her potions' book.

"Did I tell you that Albus asked me out?" Kate asked casually. Lily looked up in surprise.

"He did?" Lily said. Kate squealed loudly hugging Lily. Lily laughed.

"We're going to Hogsmead together," Kate squealed again loudly. A few kids snickered around her and Kate shot them all dirty looks. "Now we just have to get you hooked up with someone."

"I have someone in mind," Lily murmured as she focused back on her text book. Kate looked at Scorpius.

"You think he'll ever get the hint?" Kate said. Lily shrugged.

"I hope so," Lily said. "I've hinted toward it enough, and there are a few incidents."

"Incidents?" Kate asked. Lily grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Lily blushed. Kate looked over at Scorpius.

"Don't look now, but someone's looking at you," Kate giggled. Lily glanced up to see Scorpius looking over at her. She grinned at him, catching his eye. Kate stood. "I'm going to go find Albus and bother him a bit. Talk to you later, ok?"

"Yeah, see you Kate," Lily said as she waved her off and turned her attention back to her potion book.

Lily glanced back up at Scorpius one last time, grinning at him before she focused on her book. Scorpius caught the look and swore it had to be an invitation to come over. She was now sitting fairly alone and he could have had his pick of seats near her. He looked back down at her words and knew exactly how she felt and without any risk. He could turn her down and know that there was nothing risked from his part. She didn't know how he felt about her, though he was pretty clear in the way he kissed her.

He felt his face heat up slightly at that memory. Damon snickered again, ducking his head behind his own text book. Scorpius contemplated walking over and talking to her. He very nearly stood but a group of first years tumbled in the portrait hole, yelling. Lily looked up in alarm, her prefect role kicking in. She was tense as she stood, her book falling to the floor.

"SNOW!" the first years yelled pelting slushy balls of snow into the common room. Lily groaned and retrieved her book. She threw it back up on the seat, preparing to sit back down.

"You look like you could use a study break," he said interrupting her thoughts. Lily looked up to see Aiden Hill standing before her. Lily couldn't suppress her look of surprise.

"Hill?" Lily said. He grinned.

"You've been slaving over those books for hours, and now there's snow. You really ought to stretch your legs a bit before they get weak and you can't use them for the awesome kick offs," Hill said. He laughed. "C'mon. A quick walk around the grounds won't kill you."

Before Lily could protest, she was being drug out of the common room, barely grabbing her coat. She was confused as to why her fellow beater, a guy she didn't really get along with, was suddenly talking to her outside of Quidditch. Lily pulled her coat on, hoping that they'd be quick and no one would take her books and hide them on her. She knew most people knew better but some of the first year students were stupid enough to mess with a prefect.

"Um…" Lily murmured. She had a sudden feeling of needing to fill the silence between her and the sixth year boy. "So, Hill, ready to kill some Gryffindors?"

"I was born ready," Hill laughed. He glanced at her, grinning. "You know, you can call me Aiden, right? You don't have to call me by my last name."

"Huh," Lily said in a little grunt.

"So… are you seeing anyone?" Hill said quickly. Lily stopped short and stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Are you dating anyone?" Hill said a little slower.

"Ah, uh… well, I'm kind of attracted to someone," Lily said uncomfortably. She shrugged. "I'm just waiting on him."

"He must be an idiot," Hill said quietly.

"Um…" Lily said as she glanced at him. Hill laughed.

"No offense to the boy you like, but he'd be crazy not to hurry up and claim you," Hill said. Lily blushed.

"Sorry Aiden," Lily said. Hill grinned.

"No harm. I just had to take a shot," he said. He laughed. "You probably don't date team mates anyways. It could really screw up a successful team if things go south, anyways."

"You… have a point," Lily said biting her bottom lip.

"Hey, but if you ever change your mind or get tired of waiting for him, let me know," Hill said grinned. He laughed a little louder. "So, you're going to be ok with me knocking your big brother off his broom, right?"

"You' have to get to him before _I _knock him off his broom. There's no such thing as family loyalty when it comes to Quidditch," Lily said laughing. She was thankful that the awkwardness was gone though her mind was full of worry. What if she and Scorpius did start dating and things went bad? It could be really awful for the team.

* * *

"Did you see where Lily went to?" Scorpius asked Damon. Damon glanced to where she had been and shook his head.

"No, I didn't even realize she left. She must be planning to come right back," Damon said. "She left her books behind."

"I wonder where she went to," Scorpius said. Damon shrugged and continued to look at the comic book he had stashed in the middle of his own D.A.D.A. text book. Scorpius looked back down at the words she had written and decided to go looking for her. He book marked the page, afraid that if he closed it, the words would disappear and he'd have no proof of their existence.

"When you find her, bury this thing already and let her know how you feel, will you?" Damon laughed as he looked up at the other boy quickly. "Snog her into next week, if you must."

"Yeah, I'll consider it," Scorpius said grinning. He stood and headed toward the portrait hole, seeing her hook void of her coat. He pulled his jacket on and headed out to the corridor. Scorpius headed towards the grounds, finding that most people were abandoning their studies and homework for a chance to play in the slushy, wet snow. He stood just outside the main door, scanning the courtyard looking for her. He spotted her near the fountain, standing next to Aiden Hill and for a moment, the undeniable urge to run over and push Hill into the fountain propelled Scorpius through the slushy snow. He stopped short of pushing his teammate into the fountain.

"Scorpius," Lily said grinning. Hill looked at him, less than enthusiastic about his captain approaching. Hill forced a smile.

"Captain," Hill said.

"What are you two up to?" Scorpius asked quietly. Lily laughed.

"Walk around the courtyard," Lily said. "Aiden thought I was studying too much and that I needed a break."

"Yeah?" Scorpius said easing a bit.

"I did try to ask her out, but she's got her heart set on some other guy," Hill said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah?" Scorpius said looking at her. Lily grinned.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"But I figure he's an idiot if he's not scooped her up yet," Hill continued. "Don't worry, though, she turned me down. Probably for the best, since if things ended badly between us, it could be bad for the team."

"Always thinking of Quidditch," Lily laughed. She looked at Scorpius meaningfully.

"He's absolutely right," Scorpius said suddenly as he nodded. Lily watched him in disbelief and uncertainty as he turn and walk away. She hesitated before she waved off Hill and chased after him. He was heading towards the pitch and Lily followed.

"Scorpius, wait," Lily called. He quickened his pace, kicking up the slush as he marched. He made it to the interior of the pitch before slowing and allowing Lily to catch up with him. She grabbed his arm to prevent him from escaping from her, her hand on her side.

"Stitch?" he asked quietly as she struggled to catch her breath. She nodded. He sighed audibly. He wanted nothing more than to hold her tight then and there, still he remained distant.

"Why'd you run off like that?" Lily asked as she regained a normal pace of breathing. Scorpius hesitated, looking at her. She was still clinging to his sleeve, to keep him from running off like that. On the one hand, he wanted to tell her that he shared her feelings, that she was the one he loved as much as she loved him. On the other hand, he worried about things like how it would affect everything. He didn't want to think negatively about her, but he didn't want to make life bad for either of them if things did not go well between them.

"I found the passage," Scorpius said quietly. Lily visibly froze, her hand dropped from his sleeve. Her eyes looked at his, wondering.

"Ok," she said exhaling.

"I love you, Lily, I do," Scorpius said as his eyes searched her face. She looked at him, her eyes guarded.

"But?" Lily breathed.

"But…" Scorpius said as he broke her eye contact. "Hill is right. Teammates shouldn't date. There will be plenty of time for us to try to work this out one day when we're old enough."

"Fine," Lily said after an insanely lengthy silence. It was almost a snap, the way she stiffened. "Ok, fine."

"Fine?" Scorpius said quietly. He dared to look at her. Lily's eyes were blank, emotionless.

"Yeah," Lily said. She quickly recovered and forced a pained smile. He nearly believed it.

"Ok," Scorpius said. Lily swallowed.

"I quit," Lily said crossing her arms against her. He looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"You quit what?" Scorpius asked in shock.

"I quit the team," Lily said and she turned and stormed away. Scorpius chased after her, catching up with her after only a few yards. He grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him.

"Have you lost your mind?" Scorpius hissed. His face was near hers, anger flashing in his eyes. "You cannot just up and quit the team a few days before our match against Gryffindor."

"I can do whatever I damn well please," Lily snapped at him as she wrenched her arm free of his grasp.

"You think quitting is going to make me want to date you?" Scorpius asked incredulously. Lily looked at him and for the first time, she looked really hurt by his words. It was as if the words had slapped her across her face. She stepped back quickly, almost as if they physically injured her. She didn't try to hide the pain in her eyes and Scorpius immediately regretted wording it that way and using that tone with her.

"Look, I obviously made a mistake," Lily gasped as she struggled to regain control of her tears. A sob caught in her throat.

"Lily," Scorpius said almost apologetic. She kicked his shin as he reached for her and bolted back inside before he could recover.

Lily ran into the common room, barely hanging on to the tears that were welling up in her eyes and blurring her vision. She shoved past Damon, not really seeing him and scooped up her school books. Shoving them harshly into her bag, she retreated into her dormitory, slamming the door forcibly as Scorpius entered the common room, looking for her. Damon met Scorpius' eyes and frowned.

"What did you do?" Damon asked him.

"I fucked up," Scorpius groaned. He flipped open his D.A.D.A. book to where he had marked it, his fingers touching the words. He shoved the book at Damon, letting the other boy read what Lily had wrote.

"This is great," Damon said confused. "She likes you as much as you like her."

"She quit the team," Scorpius said.

_"What?"_ Damon asked frowning. "Why? And what does the team have to do with Quidditch?"

"I told her that it was a bad idea for teammates to date," Scorpius said. Damon looked at him in horror.

"What did you think was going to happen? She's been crazy about you well before you even registered her on the dating radar!" Damon snapped at him.

"I know," Scorpius said taking his book back from Damon. "It's just Hill asked her out and she turned him down, and he agreed with it because if things went badly, it would be bad for the team. It got me thinking that if she and I went out and things went bad, well… I told her that we couldn't date because of that same reasoning and she quit."

"What else?" Damon asked as he looked at Scorpius struggling with something more.

"Well, I pretty much told her in a roundabout way that her quitting changed nothing," Scorpius groaned. "But much harsher and less kind."

"You're an idiot, you know," Damon said looking at him. He shook his head. "What I would do to have a girl that crazy about me. You're a complete jackass. Lily's fantastic and she very well could be that girl for you, the one you marry when she graduates and you guys end up with a couple of kids."

"Yeah, I doubt that," Scorpius said. "Lily doesn't want kids."

"So?" Damon said. "You don't know."

"Doesn't matter much," Scorpius said grumpily. "I think I broke her heart."

"She was crying when she came through here," Damon said quietly.

"Shit," Scorpius said crossing his arms. He looked up at her dormitory longingly, frowning. "She's probably going to lock herself in her dormitory until tomorrow, play horribly, and then spend the rest of the weekend in her room."

"Like I said, Scorpius, as your best friend I mean this in the strongest way possible. You are an idiot," Damon said looking at Scorpius in disgust.

"I'll fix this," Scorpius promised.

"You'd better," Damon said. "Otherwise I'm going to kick your ass for James Potter. Seriously, you'd probably have been kinder if you laughed at her for loving you."

"I know, I know," Scorpius groaned.

"The worst part, there is no reason you can't date her," Damon said in disgust. He shook his head hard, disapproving. "You guys are crazy about each other. The rest would work itself out."

"I know!" Scorpius said frustrated.

* * *

Lily sighed as she pulled back the drapes around her four post bed. She hadn't slept at all, instead she spent the better part of the night crying while her roommates looked on with horror and sympathy. Lily, the rock who never cried, who was never weak, crumbled to pieces. The three girls, Kate, Callie, and Nina, comforted her to the best of their ability. Lily could only get out that she was upset over boy issues, of which they couldn't really comprehend much more than that. Lily fell apart.

It was early, much too early for anyone to be awake. She was dressed for the day, standing in front of her mirror in her room. She reached up to her neck, ignoring her puffy eyes and splotchy face. Her fingers locked around the chain that held her locket. Sighing, she released the clasp and let it fall free of her neck. She stared at in her hand and closed her eyes as she closed her fist on it. She let it fall into her small velvet lined jewelry box with a clunk, closing the top on it. Her feet felt like lead as she headed out of dormitory.

Scorpius was asleep on the sofa, having spent the entire night waiting for her to emerge. He would be disappointed, as Lily had not emerged. She did not flee to the room of requirement to sleep that night. Lily turned to head out of the common room when she looked to see his D.A.D.A. book sitting next to him on the sofa. She stealthily snatched the book off the sofa and flipped to the page she had confessed that she loved him on. Frowning, she glared at her words, realizing that she had opened herself up for that kind of reaction.

With a swift movement, she tore the page from the book and folded it up before shoving it into her pocket. She placed the book back on the sofa and headed down for an early breakfast. She by-passed the Great Hall and instead opted for a private breakfast in the kitchen. The house elves were eager to provide her with a huge plate of scrambled cheese eggs and crisp strips of bacon. She was in heaven. They even freshly squeeze oranges for juice, removing the pulp until it was smooth as water its self.

Lily hung out in the kitchens as long as possible before she knew if she waited any longer she'd be late for the match. She thanked the house elves for allowing her to hide out and she ran like crazy to the locker room. She exploded in there, muttering her apologies to her teammates as she let her eyes slip over Scorpius.

"Sorry," Lily muttered as she tossed her bag down on the bench. She jerked her shirt off, shoving it in her locker.

"Wow, we thought we'd have to forfeit because of you," Scorpius said coldly to her. Lily didn't reply. She pulled her team uniform on over her under gear and began strapping her protective gear on. Scorpius made a face at the lack of security of the gear and grabbed her wrist, tightening the straps. She jerked her hand away, glaring at him.

"Excuse me, _Captain_, but just because this is your team it doesn't give you the right to lay your hands on me," Lily said. Her words dripped with venom. She turned her back on him, continuing to dress as he backed away from her slowly.

Lily was one of the first out of the locker room when it was time, followed closely by Damon who was just as pissed at Scorpius as Lily was. Lily ignored them both, thinking that there was no way she was going to get over this. She opened herself up for ridicule, and she was just as much angry at herself as she was at Scorpius for turning her down. He always used the weakest excuses to turn her down. She'd never let him have that opportunity ever again. She'd sooner die than to let him hurt her like that again.

However, she did want to hurt him even just a little bit. She didn't think much of it as she took off on Professor Wood's whistle. She contemplated shirking her duties and letting the Gryffindor beaters knock a few bludgers into him, but that would punish everyone, not just Scorpius and that wasn't something she was willing to do.

"Let's kill some Gryffindors," Hill said clapping her roughly on the shoulder as they headed to defend their chasers. Lily gripped her bat, a grin on her face. She knew exactly what she would do. She wouldn't even feel guilty about it.

For the moment, her plan would have to wait to be put into play. She had a job to do. She guarded and protected her chasers, even Scorpius, keeping them bludger free while they scored points. A few times, Lily sent the bludger straight back at the Gryffindor chasers, once clipping James' arm while he reached for a pass of the Quaffle. She unseated the Gryffindor seeker twice in perfectly executed defense of her own teammates. Despite the icy rain that stung her flesh, she flew quickly circling the Slytherin players and protected them, crossing with Hill from time to time to keep the Gryffindor's on their toes. Beaters didn't need to keep track of the score, they only needed to defend and protect the scorers.

The snitch was caught by the Gryffindor seeker, but the Slytherin team was too far ahead. Lily cheered at the end of the game, embracing a few of the other teammates. She made a not-so-obvious skip of Scorpius in her embraces and instead flew to Hill's side, throwing her arms around him. She kissed him squarely on the mouth, causing him to laugh.

"So, you've rethought my suggestion then?" Hill said knowingly. Lily laughed.

"I figured you're right about it," Lily said. "If he's too stupid to realize what a great girl I am, he doesn't deserve me."

"And what if this thing gets weird should things not work out?" Hill asked quickly. Lily grinned.

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily, Aiden," Lily said. Hill grinned and threw his arms around her, ten feet in the air. He kissed her deeply, causing a fair amount of cheers and cat-calling and whistles from the witnesses. Hill smiled, his mouth curving up as they kissed, causing her to giggle.

"Ok, so we're definitely going to skip studying then this next Hogsmead trip and go on a real date, right?" Hill coaxed her grinning as the two landed on the pitch.

"It's only right, since it is the last Hogsmead trip before Christmas," Lily laughed. She almost didn't even notice Scorpius standing there as she skipped into the locker room. Soaking wet from the icy rain, she gathered her clothes and took the longest, hottest shower possible. She even ignored when a few of the boys called in, complaining that they were out of hot water on their side and were coming to use the spares.

Lily hummed a little tune as she showered, and for the first time since she had received the locket, she didn't hum that tune. Scorpius showered a few stalls over, listening to her hum an unfamiliar tune and inside he felt like a big piece of him was dying. Lily had confessed her love for him, he had pretty much shot her down, and now Lily was going on a date with Aiden Hill. Scorpius let the water pour over his face, swearing that the water from the shower always made his eyes water like that. He was not crying; he couldn't because he didn't have a right to. He was the one who turned her down.


	25. Fire Whiskey

A/N: So… I'm not getting emailed of reviews, so I was really bummed thinking no one was reading and reviewing, then I looked and saw that a few people had, actually, reviewed (the most ever for one chapter of this story in fact). It made me very happy. Now, if I could get the characters to quit being so damn difficult, it'd all be great. My laptop battery died… sadly… for like the last time. The cells went out in it or whatever, so it wasn't holding an adequate charge which limited how much outdoor writing I could do. Lucky for me, my husband's battery fits nicely in my laptop (same brand, different model) and it's holding the charge at least twice as long, so that's been great.

Disc.: Creation of plot line: claimed. All else borrowed.

* * *

Fire Whiskey

He couldn't deny it, she looked incredibly happy. He also couldn't deny that he wished it wasn't so. She was bundled up in her coat, wisps of her hair peeking out from under her hat and beneath her scarf. She was maybe twenty feet in front of Scorpius, walking to Hogsmead with Aiden Hill. Scorpius could hear the sound of her laughter floating back on the icy wind to his ears. He shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. Damon glanced at him, unable to ignore the scowling.

"You were the one who pushed her to date Hill," Damon reminded him. "You can't be mad at her for listening to you. After all, you made her believe you didn't really like her enough."

"Yeah," Scorpius grumbled. Lily continued to move away from him and he felt even worse for it. She kept her distance from Aiden as she walked down the lane, though he seemed fairly intent on trying to hold her hand. She was good at avoiding it, whether she was conscious of it or not.

"I'm really glad I'm getting this chance to take you out on a date," Hill said as he glanced at her. Lily flashed him a smile and nodded.

"Me too," Lily said nodding.

"I'm sorry that your guy didn't wise up, but it works out wonderfully for me. I'm just glad you gave me the chance," Hill said. Lily grinned at him.

"No problem," Lily said as she continued to walk down the lane. Her foot caught a hidden root, buried in the snow and she pitched forward, Hill catching her by the arm.

"Careful there," Hill warned as he continued to hold onto her arm. She didn't try to free herself from his grip, instead she allowed his hand remain on her. She glanced up at him, smiling.

"So over protective, aren't you?" Lily laughed. Hill looked down at her and grinned.

"Our captain would have my head if you broke," he teased as he shot a look back to Scorpius. Lily followed his gaze and her eyes fell on Scorpius scowling at her. She smiled at him. She didn't look vindictive or cruel, she just smiled.

"Can't have him beheading our only other beater," Lily teased as she focused back on Hill. "I'd hate to have to do it all myself."

"As if he could catch me," Hill taunted. A snowball collided with the back of Hill's head. Lily and Hill glanced back to see Damon staring at Scorpius. Lily laughed and she scooped up a mitten full of snow, packing it quickly, and launching it right at Scorpius. She missed, him ducking and she giggled before she reached for Hill's hand and took off running down the snowy lane, avoiding Scorpius and Damon's snowball assault.

"Those two are nuts," Lily laughed as she and Hill slipped into a booth at the Three Broomsticks. Lily began pulling her damp little mittens off and tossing them up on the table.

"What'll you have?" Hill asked.

"Whatever you're having," Lily said dismissively as she unwound her scarf and pulled her hat free. Hill slipped out of the booth and went to get their drinks. She had pulled free of her coat by the time Hill returned and he stopped, looking at her with interest.

"Wow, Lily," he said as he sat down. She was wearing a black button up shirt that hugged her curves just enough to show off her delicate figure. It was rather modest. Lily had wondered if people would see her as a prudish because of it.

"What?" Lily asked slightly concerned.

"You look great," Hill said. Lily blushed.

"It's nothing special," Lily said honestly.

"I like how you don't feel the need to show everything off. You let people wonder and be curious about you," Hill said smiling at her. "It's refreshing."

"Thanks, I think," Lily said. She looked at the curiously smoking cups that Hill held. "What have you there?"

"Something I can bet you've never tried," Hill said grinning as he held the cup out to her.

"What is it?" Lily said as she sniffed the drink.

"Just try it," he urged. Lily sipped it. It burned.

"Oh, what is that?" Lily coughed.

"Drink," he urged. "It gets better."

"Or you catch on fire," Lily mumbled as she took a gulp. It still burned, but less so. She felt warm almost instantly and the second gulp of it no longer had that edge of fire that that the first had.

"Do you like?" Hill asked smirking as she finished the cup.

"Hmm… my head feels a bit swimmy," Lily admitted.

"Are you warm?" he asked as he slipped his arm around her. She giggled as she snuggled up against him.

"Mhmm, yes," Lily replied. Hill laughed.

"You're silly when you get a little fire whiskey in you," he teased. Lily laughed as she looked up at him from under his arm.

"You're just silly," Lily taunted slight as she grinned at him. The two of them laughed and Hill pushed his drink into her hand.

"Finish mine, one of us has to be straight enough to get the other one back safely," Hill teased but Lily didn't drink his drink. Instead, she placed it on the table.

"Thanks, but I'm already a little too buzzed to take another sip," Lily said grinning.

"Can I kiss you?" Hill asked. Lily looked up at him in surprise.

"You're asking for my permission?" Lily asked as she pressed into his arms deeper. Hill shrugged.

"Seemed like the right thing to do," he said as he kissed her. She smiled under his lips, causing him to smile, as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers touching the back of his neck. He groaned, grinning and pulled his mouth away from hers.

"What?" Lily asked as she pouted.

"Nothing," he whispered as he kissed her chin, planting little kisses along her jaw and against her neck and throat. He felt her sigh. He pulled back. "What?"

"Nothing," she said as she invited him to kiss her again. She responded rather forcibly, practically climbing into his lap. He pulled his mouth away from hers, chuckling as she kissed him.

"Maybe we should get a room," Hill whispered into her ear. "They have them here in the pub."

"Hmm…" Lily breathed.

"It'll be quieter," Hill whispered. "We can talk, just you and I."

"Well…" Lily said looking at him slowly, shyly.

"Don't you trust me, Lily? I'm your teammate," Hill breathed as his mouth met hers. "I won't hurt you. Just to talk."

"Just to talk?" Lily said. Hill smiled and nodded. He pushed his cup in her hand and stood.

"Just to talk," he confirmed. Lily nodded hesitantly as she drank the remainder of his drink. He stood, offering her his arm. She stood quickly and sat right back down, her head spinning. Hill laughed and helped Lily to her feet. She swayed and laughed, Hill steered her to the stairs in the back of the pub, leading her up to the room he had reserved when he got the drinks.

Lily fell against the bed, laughing as Hill released her. Luckily the distance wasn't far and Lily grinned as Hill joined her on the bed. He smiled at her, touching her face. He brushed her hair from her eyes, kissing her lightly. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"So you wanted to talk?" Lily asked. Hill grinned, her words slurring slightly. He laughed, kissing her a little more forcible.

"We don't have to talk," he assured her.

"Well I thought about it," she said. He laughed again.

"You're not making any sense," he told her. She giggled.

"I dranked too much," she said giggling again. He nodded.

"It's 'I drank too much' and yeah, I think you did," he smiled as she kissed him back.

"It's too hot in here," Lily complained as she loosened her top button.

"Mhmm…" Hill agreed. He kissed her neck, his fingers going to the buttons of his own shirt, unfastening several in a row. His mouth returned to hers, his fingers touched her neck. He unbuttoned her shirt slowly, carefully. He distracted her, his mouth caressing her as he undid each of her buttons.

"Hill?" Lily murmured, her eyes closed.

"Aiden…" Hill corrected.

"Aiden?" Lily murmured.

"Yeah, Lily," Hill replied breathily in her ear. She shivered excited under his touch and words.

"I don't want to do anything much more," she said. He continued to kiss her. His lips continued to scorch her flesh as he kissed her. "Aiden…"

"I heard you," Hill said in a whispered voice. He kissed her mouth, holding her close to him. Her fingers touched his chest, her palms spreading against the muscles, her nails bit into his shoulders as she pulled him closer. He pulled his shirt off, adding it to the pile of clothes. He slid her own shirt off, leaning away from her a moment while he dimmed the lights.

"Hill…" Lily murmured again.

"Aiden," he corrected again.

"Aiden," Lily protested.

"Yes, Lily?" Aiden replied quietly in awe as his eyes absorbed the sight of her lying shirtless below him. His fingers touched the lacy edge of her bra almost as if she was going to shatter under his touch. He gathered her quickly against him, Hill's mouth colliding with her skin as he smothered Lily in kisses and touches.

"No, Aiden," she said a little more forcibly. She struggled to open her eyes, the alcohol too much for her to fight. "Please, Aiden, no."

* * *

Scorpius ran his finger around the rim of his glass, wishing he had ordered a double. He wanted to avoid becoming like the other seventeen and eight year old students of Hogwarts who drank fire whiskey like water to prove something to the younger students, but he could have really used more. He and Damon were sitting, minding their own business in a small booth silent. Damon looked at Scorpius was patience. He knew his best friend would talk when he was ready.

"Where the hell did she go?" Scorpius asked suddenly letting his eyes drift over at where Hill and Lily had been sitting. Damon didn't look up. He had seen them get up to leave.

"Last I saw, they were heading away from the booth," Damon said shrugging. Scorpius made a face, pouting.

"Let's just get out of here," Scorpius said finishing off the last dregs of his fire whiskey before leaving the table. Damon nodded and followed.

"So, what do you want to do?" Damon asked. "Want to go beat Hill's face in?"

"Why bother?" Scorpius said dejectedly. "You were right; I pushed Lily to move on and to date. I made her think she wasn't good enough for me. I deserve to be having a miserable time."

"But I don't," Damon teased lightly.

"No, you don't Damon, sorry," Scorpius said with honest apology.

"Come on," Damon said. "Let's go to Zonko's or Honeydukes'."

"Sure," Scorpius said sarcastically. "Let me pull a teenage angst ridden girl move and eat my weight in chocolate frogs." Damon snorted.

"Let's stick to something that'll keep you light on your broom," Damon said as the two trudged through the snow.

Honeydukes was insanely full, but the light and joyful mood was contagious and Scorpius found himself laughing at some of the goofier third years. The funniest were the group of muggle born third year students who were trying out some of the many, many wizarding candies. Lily never left Scorpius' mind, but he did seem to suppress the ache that he felt for a little while.

The air was much cooler as they walked back to the castle. Scorpius sighed, audibly, knowing that he'd probably ask about how Lily's date with Hill went and would have to hear about it for the rest of patrol. As much as he dreaded hearing about her date, he found himself looking forward to time alone with her, even if it was on official school business.

Scorpius changed into his school uniform from his relaxed wear and sat in the common room. The fires were blazing around them, the heat stifling for Slytherin standards. He opened up his D.A.D.A. book, flipping randomly until he had flipped through it twice. Frowning, he carefully combed through the pages until he came to where the numbers mysteriously skipped a page worth of information and page numbers. He swore loudly, causing a few first years to cower and glance at him in surprise.

"What's up with the swearing, there," Damon asked as he threw himself across one of the chairs.

"Damn Lily," Scorpius growled as he shoved the book into Damon's outstretched hand. "She tore that page from my book."

"When?" Damon asked.

"I don't bloody well know, now do I?" Scorpius growled. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Maybe she thought that it would be easier to heal if she didn't have something floating around out there that made her so vulnerable," Damon said. Scorpius made a rude sound. Damon rolled his eyes. "Look, you and I are best mates, really, but you're being a complete ass."

"I know," Scorpius sighed. He glanced at his watch. "I want to make it up to her, I do, but what the hell am I supposed to do, Damon?"

"Start by being honest with her about how you really feel," Damon suggested. "Quit hiding behind weak excuses and such."

"I wonder what's keeping her," Scorpius murmured as his eyes fell on her roommates. They were all in their normal places in the common room, their faces still rosy red from the cold. "Hey, Zabini. Have you seen Lily?"

"No," Shale said as he barely looked up from cuddling with Nina.

"Kate?" Scorpius asked. Kate looked up from the letter she was penning and shook her head.

"I've not seen her since she and Hill went up to the room at the Three Broomsticks," Kate said dismissively.

"She… what?" Scorpius said as his face started turning red.

"She was a bit drunk," Kate said as she looked back down at the letter.

"Drunk? Lily?" Scorpius snapped.

"Lily's a light weight when it comes to fire whiskey," Shale piped up as Nina kissed his neck slightly. "You should have seen her a few months back when she had just a sip of mine, er… the bit I found. She was giggly and warm. Just from a sip."

"Do you know how much she had?" Scorpius asked. Kate shook her head.

"One or two, at least," Kate said. She laughed. "I never knew she had it in her. I'm surprised that she'd be able to stay awake after that."

"Damn it," Scorpius said jumping up. He was ready to bolt back to Hogsmead when Hill walked into the common room, freshly showered and with clean clothes. Scorpius rushed at him, angry. "Hill, where in the hell is Lily Potter? And I swear to Merlin if you hurt her or took advantage of her in anyway, I will kill you with my bear hands."

"No need," Hill said raising his hand in surrender. "She's pretty fucking pissed at me."

"Where is she?" Scorpius demanded.

"She's in the hospital wing," Hill said as he stepped around Scorpius. Shale sighed.

"I'll cover patrol," Shale said as he extracted himself from Nina. "I'll be back in a bit and we can pick this up then."

"Thanks," Scorpius threw the words over his shoulder as he exited the common room. He knew he shouldn't run, but panic had him sprinting down the corridors, knocking into other students as they retreated to their common rooms.

"Hey, man. Where's the fire?" James called to him. Scorpius spun around and looked at him. He didn't want to alarm James, not yet when he didn't know if James needed to be alarmed.

"Oh, Slytherin business," Scorpius said casually.

"Need any help?" James offered. Scorpius laughed.

"Nah, I can manage, but thanks," Scorpius said waving him off. "I'll catch up with you later if I need help."

"A'right, man," James said as he continued down the hall. Scorpius picked up his pace to a slow jog so not to alarm anyone with his running. He pushed into the hospital ward. Madame Pomphrey looked up.

"Mr. Malfoy, can I help you?" she asked.

"Lily Potter," he said quickly. Madame Pomphrey nodded.

"This way," she said as she pushed into the lavatory. Lily was lying on the floor, sweating. Scorpius scrunched up his nose. "Seems Miss Potter had a bit too much of something, though she won't say what."

"I'll stay with her," Scorpius said immediately dismissing the woman as Lily groaned and leaned face first into the toilet, vomiting intensely. Scorpius drew her hair out of her face, pressing a cool wash cloth to her face and wiping her mouth as she fell back against the cold tile. She moaned, holding her stomach.

"How do you feel, honey?" he asked quietly as he wiped her face down. She whimpered.

"Like crap," Lily whispered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Scorpius asked. Lily went to shake her head but was hit with another violent bout of vomiting. Scorpius held her up while she threatened to collapse from vomiting.

"God, this is disgusting," Lily moaned. Her cheeks were bright red from the exertion.

"Yeah, it is," Scorpius chuckled.

"You shouldn't be here," she told him as she leaned back against the title.

"I didn't know so much puke could come from a thing as small as you," Scorpius teased.

"I didn't want you to see that," Lily groaned.

"How about a bath?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him warily. He grinned slightly. "Look, Lily, I want you to be happy, that's all. If Hill makes you happy, then I'm happy. The bath is because you smell."

"I don't… yeah, I do, huh?" Lily said weakly. Scorpius chuckled and flicked his wand to the taps, the room filling with the scent of warmth and flowers.

"Huh, it smells like you. Well, how you smell when you don't smell like puke," Scorpius said. Lily laughed weakly.

"Ah, so this whole time you thought your love potion smelled like me, it really just smelled like the hospital wing of the school," Lily joked weakly. He rolled his eyes but laughed.

"Do you need any help getting undressed?" Scorpius asked quietly. Lily shivered.

"No, I don't think so," Lily said. Something in the tone of her voice made him take a second look.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Let me get into the tub a minute, huh?" Lily groaned as she stood. Scorpius nodded and turned his back on her, humming as he ignored the rustle of clothes. She was soundless as she slipped into the bath of suds, the bubbles concealing everything but her face. "I'm good."

"Your clothes reek," Scorpius said lifting them off the ground and threw them in the bin near the little house elf that Lily hadn't even acknowledge.

"I'm sorry house elf," Lily called weakly from the tub as the house elf placed a stack of clean, dry clothes.

"Misses Potter, it's Milo's pleasure to serve," the creature said bowing deeply and exiting.

"I wish you hadn't seen me puke like that," Lily said after she dipped under the water and surfaced, her hair wet.

"I wish I hadn't seen you puke like that, either," Scorpius teased.

"At least you only saw me puke," Lily groaned. She put her hand to her head, trailing soap on her forehead. "I threw up all over Aiden, and we had to walk back to Hogsmead with him drenched in my vomit."

"Serves him right for getting you drunk and taking you up to a room," Scorpius said angrily. Lily looked at him curiously.

"How'd you know about that? I told him to keep his fucking mouth shut," Lily groaned.

"He only told me that you were here," Scorpius replied. "Zabini and Rosier saw you drinking and saw you head up with Hill."

"Ugh," Lily said. Scorpius grinned.

"So, you want something to drink?" Scorpius asked.

"NO!" Lily moaned.

"I mean like water or Weasley's Famous Hangover Potion," Scorpius offered. He headed out of the bathroom for a few minutes while Lily rinsed off and dressed in the clothes. He returned and ushered her to one of the hospital beds.

"I have to stay the night?" Lily whined.

"Hey, what would people say to us sneaking around in you pajamas this late at night?" Scorpius asked. "Plus I ran into James patrolling."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Lily groaned. Scorpius shook his head.

"I should have and let him give you a piece of his mind, but no, I didn't," Scorpius said. He pulled the covers back on the bed and gestured for Lily to climb in. She did reluctantly, rolling her eyes as Scorpius tucked her in.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Lily said. Scorpius grinned.

"Just trying to get on your good side, Lils," Scorpius said. "In case you haven't noticed, I've not exactly been that good of a friend. I'm sorry for that."

"It's ok, really," Lily said as Scorpius handed her a cup of sickly blue liquid. She made a face.

"Drink it," he ordered. Lily chugged it quickly and let her head fall back against the pillow. "You'll be one hundred percent by the end of an hour."

"Good to know," Lily said as she closed her eyes.

"Do you want me to stay?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him in surprise.

"Do you want to stay?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Scorpius said honestly.

"Even though I was drunk and alone in a room with Aiden Hill?" Lily pressed. Scorpius' jaw clenched slightly but he nodded.

"You could tell me what did or didn't happen, but it wouldn't change anything, Lils," Scorpius said quietly. "No matter how we fight it, no matter how much I fight it, I can't fight the truth. I don't want to fight the truth anymore. It's stupid. I've been stupid."

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked curiously as she sat up slightly. Scorpius was standing at her side, his hand cupping her cheek. He locked his gaze on her, a smile on his face.

"Lily Potter, no matter how much I fight it, the truth remains and I will not fight it anymore, even if you won't have me, Lily, I couldn't belong to anyone else," Scorpius told her. Lily looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"No matter what happened or what will happen, the truth remains constant," Scorpius said as he lowered his face until it was just millimeters from her face. "Lils, I am totally, helplessly, undeniably in love with you."


	26. Choices

A/N: Thank you all to who have taken the time to read and review. I know I told a lot of you that this was going to be up on the 10th but I got a bit behind on the release and didn't want to release anything short of perfection (or as close to perfection as I can get). I hope you enjoy, and if it ends up being horrible, I'm sorry… but hey… it's 11 pages long, so at least it's lengthy, right?!

Disc.: I created something, just not this universe.

* * *

Choices

Lily slept soundless that night, exhausted. She was too sore from the countless events of vomiting and heaving, a bit grossed out from having such intense stomach pyrotechnics. She was certain she'd never touch fire whiskey again, or at least not in a really long time. The potion Scorpius had given her had kicked in shortly after his confession and Lily was able to retreat to her sleep without responding. She had slipped into unconsciousness and Lily had wondered if that was his intention. A perfectly timed confession that would have her slip away moments before she could conjure a response.

Lily yawned, stretching. She was vaguely aware of a set of eyes on her and she hesitated to meet them. She knew that she'd need to talk with the owner of those eyes eventually, to find out what she needed to do now about the new information. She had no idea what she was going to do. She loved Scorpius, but how many times could he play with her emotions before she'd break?

"You're awake, baby," Hill said kissing her forehead. She had be hyperaware of Scorpius that she didn't even register that more than he was in the room. Lily forced a smile and she looked at her fellow beater apologetically.

"I am so sorry that I threw up on you," Lily said. Her cheeks flushed slightly against her pale face and he laughed.

"It was my own fault," he confessed. "I shouldn't have let you drink so much. I should have known two would be too much for someone your size, and it wasn't like I didn't deserve it. You made your position clear and I still tried to press my luck. I deserved for you to have emptied the contents of your stomach all over me."

"When you put it that way," Lily laughed lightly. "I'm not so sorry."

"Ah, I'm sorry that things ended badly," Hill said grinning at her, sitting on the edge of the bed. He had his back to Scorpius as he brushed the hair from Lily's face.

"Well, we live and we learn," Lily said as she looked into his eyes. "We'll just have to try again, minus the liquor, won't we?"

"Are you asking me on a date, Lily Potter?" Hill teased. Lily laughed.

"I have to make it up to you for puking on our first date," Lily said. Hill nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Well, we'll see," Hill taunted, causing Lily to pout. He swooped down, kissing her forehead lightly again.

"I retract it then," Lily said crossing her arms. Hill laughed.

"Fine, fine. You win," he said. "Another date then. How about the annual Slytherin ball?"

"That sounds perfect," Lily said. Hill looked at his watch.

"Don't hang out in here too long, the train leaves in a few hours. I'll see you after you do your duties," Hill said as he got up off the edge of her bed. He left the hospital and slowly, Lily turned her eyes from the door to Scorpius. He was sitting beside her, his hands on the edge of the bed. He clenched his hand slightly on the sheet before he released it and looked at her.

"So… you're going with Hill," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him and nodded.

"So it would seem," Lily said smiling slightly. Scorpius' eyes finally met hers and she cringed. He looked like he was in pain, struggling to hold on to reality.

"Did you hear me last night?" Scorpius asked quietly. Lily sighed. She had indeed registered everything of what he said.

"You love me, right?" Lily said.

"Yes," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him apologetically.

"I heard you," Lily said.

"And you still choose Hill over me," Scorpius said nodding once. He sighed. "I guess I knew to expect that. I waited too long and I've been too fickle. It wouldn't be fair to expect you to just drop Hill because I finally feel the same way you do."

"No," Lily agreed lightly.

"I want you to promise me something," Scorpius said as he forced a smile.

"Depends," she said suspiciously.

"It's nothing bad, I promise," Scorpius said honestly.

"Let's hear it then, before I agree," Lily told him. He laughed.

"Promise me you'll give me a second chance, even if it's not today," Scorpius said. Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can't guarantee that," Lily said shaking her head. He winced slightly.

"Ok, promise me that you'll go to the Slytherin ball with me," Scorpius practically begged, though his tone never betrayed it.

"I already agreed to go with Hill," Lily protested.

"No, I don't mean this year," Scorpius said shaking his head. "Your seventh year ball marks the 200 year anniversary of the Slytherin Ball. I want you to be my date."

"And if I am dating someone then?" she asked.

"You and I could go as friends," Scorpius said as his fingers touched the back of her hand. He focused on her hand and arm as he lightly ran his fingers up and down the arm.

"Won't you still be traveling around the world?" Lily smirked. His eyes flickered up to hers, holding her gaze.

"Trust me, this would pale all my travels, the honor of escorting you in any fashion to the Christmas Ball, Lily," Scorpius said. He held her gaze a moment longer. "Now that I've confessed it aloud and so certainly, it's not going to change."

"No?" Lily breathed.

"No," Scorpius said as he kissed her lightly on her lips. "I love you. I can wait a life time if I must." He kissed her a little more intensely, stealing Lily's breath. She turned her head as he pulled away.

"Score, that's unkind," Lily breathed again. He smiled.

"Love can be unkind like that," Scorpius chuckled. He groaned slightly as he stretched.

"Did you sleep there all night long?" she asked changing the subject. Scorpius grinned sheepishly.

"I didn't sleep," he said. "I watched you sleep. I could tell when you were dreaming."

"Great," Lily laughed as she pushed the covers back and swung her legs around to the side of the bed. She stood, wavering slightly. Scorpius made a quick grab for her as her legs buckled.

"I should have warned you that your uncle's hangover potion can make you a little weak in the knees at first," Scorpius said as his hands held onto her midsection. She looked up into his eyes, with slight surprise and a hint of mischievousness.

"Sure, that's what got me weak kneed," Lily teased lightly. Scorpius chuckled.

"So, then, it's a yes?" Scorpius asked.

"For the 200th Annual Slytherin Christmas Ball, sure," Lily said rolling her eyes. "By then, you'll probably be married or whatever, but I'll play along."

"You underestimate the amount I love you, Lily Potter," Scorpius whispered in her ear. She shivered slightly as he pulled her closer. He got a bright look on his face. "I'll be there."

"Ooh, make we should make an Unbreakable Vow," Lily teased as heat rose in her cheeks. Scorpius shook his head.

"They've outlawed those on purpose, Lils," Scorpius said darkly.

"I was only joking," Lily promised.

"Sure, sure," Scorpius said as he finally dropped his hands from her body. "You just want to give me some sort of heart attack. I see what you're trying to do. It won't work, Lils. I'm yours for good whether you'll have me or not." Lily sighed.

"Well, Score, I ought to go get dressed," Lily said as she glanced meaningfully at the stack of clothes the house elf had left her. Scorpius nodded and took his cue.

"Remember, Lils, no matter what," Scorpius said. He looked back at her, not finishing his sentence.

"I'll keep it in mind," she promised.

* * *

The ride home was unremarkable. Lily had performed her prefect duties and spent time with her friends. She rode home with her brothers and cousins in her Uncle's car, crammed in the back seat with Rose, Albus, and Hugo. All in all, the Christmas Holiday was unremarkable. She looked forward to the Christmas Ball, finally old enough to attend it alone, and it being the first that she had attended in two years.

Harry had taken to spoiling his youngest, to overcompensate for her lack of a mother. He handed Lily his Wizard Card and sent her to the dress shops to buy whatever until her heart was content. She had opted to go alone, turning down Harry's half-hearted offer of accompanying her. Even James and Albus offered, but to lesser degrees. In the end, Lily took Harry's credit card and used the floo network to arrive in Diagon Alley alone.

She brushed her cloak clean as she stepped from the grate at The Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the old barkeep, looked up and dipped his head respectfully. Lily smiled at him as she headed out to alley way. The snow was swept clean from the ground, though it clung to the bushes and awnings. Lily let her eyes trace the street as she tried to contemplate where she'd like to look first when a pair of hands covered her eyes. Lily breathed in the icy air, deeply, and she caught his scent.

"Scorpius, is this a coincidence or are you planning on stalking me until the ball?" Lily teased. She heard him swear playfully.

"How'd you know it was me," Scorpius asked as he removed his hands and she turned to look at him.

"I already told you that once," Lily said. "I'm surprised that it slipped so quickly from your mind."

"It didn't," Scorpius confessed. He grinned. "I just like to hear it."

"You like to hear that the most powerful love potion smells like you for me? Into self torture much?" Lily taunted. He laughed.

"So, are you here shopping for your dress?" Scorpius said changing the subject.

"You know I am," she said crossing her arms over her bulky cloak.

"Well, don't let me keep you," he said grinning. She hesitated a moment, wondering why it was so easy for him to release her attention. She shrugged.

"See you later," she said. He nodded.

"You bet," he said. She started to walk away. "Oh, Lily?"

"Yes?" Lily said turning to him. He jogged back to her side, ignoring the looks of a few curious by-standers.

"You have two things of mine," Scorpius told her, his mouth near her ear as he whispered. "One I want back now, and one I'll hope that you'll hang on to forever."

"And they would be?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"The one I want back is the page from my D.A.D.A. book," Scorpius said smirking as he righted himself. He crossed his arms. "I'll need it for class next term."

"I know for a fact that you won't," Lily said smugly. He smiled and extended his hand. She reached into her bag, pulling out the perfectly folded piece of his text book. She held it in her hand. "How'd you know I had it on me?"

"I knew you wouldn't leave it where anyone else could access it," Scorpius said as he stepped closer. "My page, please?"

"Fine," Lily laughed as she handed him back the page. He quickly unfolded it and read the passage she had written, a smile blossoming on his face.

"Thank you," he breathed. He looked at her again, quickly kissing her cheek and walking away.

"Wait, Scorpius! You said that there were two things," Lily called. Scorpius turned around, continuing to move away from her. He laughed.

"The second thing is my heart, but I don't want it back. I love the fact that you have it," Scorpius called loudly. Lily felt her cheeks turn bright red and more than a few people stared at the two of them.

"You're so corny, Scorpius Malfoy!" Lily called to him. He laughed and apparated out of Diagon Alley.

* * *

Lily had arranged for Aiden Hill to swing by to pick her up for the Christmas ball, but still she felt nervous as she woke up Christmas morning. She headed down the stairs, surprised to see Scorpius and Mr. Malfoy sitting at the table with Harry, Lily skidding to a stop halfway through the kitchen. Heat rose into her face, nearly burning her as she looked down at her choice of bed-wear that night. She wore a tee shirt that just barely covered her panties, having decided to forgo a robe since it was just her, her brothers, and her dad.

"Hey, Lily, um, we have guests," Harry said noticing his daughter's discomfort.

"I… see that," Lily squeaked out. "I'll just go, um, yeah."

"Hurry back," Scorpius called, laughing as Lily bolted up the stairs three at a time, which she regretted the minute she hit the first landing. She was sure that the two Malfoys and her father had seen more of her panties than she'd ever want them to. She shook with embarrassment for a moment, her face bright red.

"Did you know Malfoy's downstairs?"James asked, his arms were crossed against his chest as Lily jetted past him. He smirked.

"Thanks for the heads up, big bro," Lily grumbled as she ran into her room. She took a few calming breaths, jumping into the shower for a quick shower and redressed in more appropriate wear. She headed back downstairs, more put together and she glared at Scorpius' grin.

"You return," Scorpius said as Lily pulled out a box of cereal and helped herself to a bowl. She barely glanced into the living room where the presents lay motionless under the tree. Albus' snores could be heard downstairs and James laughed as he pushed a bowl and the box towards Scorpius. It was too cozy between those two.

"So, what brings you by on Christmas Day, Mr. Malfoy?" Lily asked politely. Draco laughed.

"Scorpius insisted," Draco said. Lily's cheeks went a little warm. She could hear James snickering from behind his box of cereal. Scorpius was grinning at her as he shoveled a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"Is that so?" Lily challenged. She refused to let him see her discomfort. "Well, I have to say it's a pleasant surprise."

"We came to extend an invitation for you to travel with us to the Christmas Ball," Draco said. Lily grinned.

"No need," Lily said politely. "Thank you, but Aiden Hill turned seventeen at the end of September, and he got his apparation license. He's going to pick me up at seven."

"Well, the offer still stands," Draco said. Scorpius smirked at Lily. "I'm glad this Aiden Hill is so trust worthy, Harry. I don't know how I'd feel about some boy off apparating with my fifteen year old daughter. I guess that's why I was glad Infamy and I only had Scorpius. So much you worry about boys, I imagine it's tenfold with girls."

"Lily, have I met this Aiden character?" Harry asked after digesting the information. Lily glared at Scorpius for a second before smiling at her dad.

"Daddy, you're going to meet him tonight when he picks me up," Lily told her father. She looked at him sweetly.

"Still, I don't know if I want you going to some ball with a boy I don't know," Harry said. Lily rested her chin on her hand, looking at him. "And don't give me that look. I'd feel so guilty if something ever happened to you." Lily sighed. She knew she'd never go against her dad when he was pulling the guilt trip on her.

"Fine," Lily snapped as she walked over to the phone. She picked up the receiver and dialed the number to Aiden Hill's house.

"Hill Manor," a snooty man's voice said.

"This is Lily Potter, is Aiden Hill available?" Lily asked. She waited a few minutes before a breathless Aiden picked up the phone.

"Lily, hey, I was just thinking about you," Aiden said.

"I hope that's not why you're breathless," Lily said smirking as she glanced over at Scorpius.

"No, but I am only wearing a towel, you caught me as I was getting out of the shower," Aiden laughed. Lily giggled.

"Wet and in a towel? My lucky day," Lily teased. Harry cleared his throat behind her. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "Look, Aiden, I hate to do this to you but my dad's not going to let you apparate with me to the ball."

"Oh," Hill said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Lily said.

"Well, that's ok," Hill said brightly. "How are you getting to the ball?"

"The Malfoys," Lily said with a bit of divestment. Hill laughed.

"Ah, our captain, there have been rumors that he liked you," Hill laughed. Lily laughed.

"Is that so?" Lily said.

"Yeah," Hill said. He sighed dramatically. "Figures he'd play dirty."

"Very funny," Lily laughed. "You're still my date, right?"

"Right," Hill promised. "Just because Malfoy's confessed his undying love for you and I was a total git to you doesn't mean you should ditch on our date."

"How'd you know?" Lily asked. Hill was silent for a minute.

"Huh, wow. He did?" Hill questioned.

"Yeah, when I was… uh… ill that one time," Lily said dropping her voice. Hill laughed.

"Your dad's there, isn't he?" Hill asked.

"Yeah, and…"

"He's there?" Hill asked.

"Yeah," Lily admitted. Hill laughed.

"I don't have a chance in hell," Hill laughed almost slightly bitter.

"Don't say that," Lily said. "You never know."

"I know," Hill said. He chuckled. "At least I have tonight. I'll see you there, yeah?"

"Yeah," Lily said.

"You opened my gift yet?" Hill asked suddenly.

"You got me… _but why_?" Lily hissed into the phone, covering the mouthpiece.

"Duh, because I really like you, Lily," Hill said. She could almost picture him rolling his eyes. Yeah, it was probably that obvious.

"See you tonight," Lily promised. She hung up the phone and retreated to the table to eat her cereal. She hid behind her cereal box as Scorpius and Draco readied to leave.

"See you at seven," Scorpius promised. Lily rolled her eyes at him, sticking her tongue out at him.

Once the Malfoys had departed, James was finally given the go ahead to wake Albus. The four sat around, opening presents. Harry loved the gift that the kids had given him: a new dragon-skin brief case. Lily and her brothers received clothes, books, and games. Lily had just two presents left, one from Aiden and one from Scorpius. Lily would have much preferred to open them up in private, but instead she slipped her finger under the wrapping of Aiden's larger present knowing that with the length that she and he were aware of each other, it couldn't be too embarrassing.

Lily had been right. Hill's gift had been a huge tome of rare magical maladies. It looked very old, very well used. Inside, Hill had written an inscription:

_Lily,  
Having heard your intentions for a career, I figured it anyone could appreciate this, you could. This is a first handwritten addition of Dirge Hannover's Medical Magical Maladies. The writing and drawings are all original. Happy Christmas, love. You're going to be a great Healer! Love, Aiden Hill (future beater for the Valencia Vogt's, you're the first I'm telling. Once I'm done with this year, I'm off to play professionally. I've been signed a ten year contract. I couldn't be happier, well, I could be… but you and I are still on the young side to be thinking such things. Happy Christmas and I can't wait to see you in your dress.)_

"Hill's been signed to the Vogt's!" Lily exclaimed as she ran her fingers across the golden ink he had used to write on the page.

"Wow, that's great," Harry said.

"That's fantastic," James exclaimed. "He's a kick-ass player, even if he is a Slytherin."

"Very funny," Lily laughed as she stuck her tongue out at him. She continued to look at the book, flipping through the pages while ignoring for the moment the rest of the room.

"Merlin, your friend Kate's so nuts," Albus groaned as he pushed the gift Kate had sent him to Lily. She reluctantly closed the book and took the box. She pulled a tee shirt from it. She fought the urge to laugh. Kate had plastered her face on the front and had the words: _Albus is the property of Kate Rosier_ printed on the back. Lily placed it in the box.

"She just feels… strongly… about you," Lily said as she handed him the box. Albus rolled his eyes and stuffed the box under a pile of other clothes he had received. Lily couldn't ignore the gift that Scorpius sent any longer, knowing that whatever it was it would be extravagant and expensive. She carefully pulled the paper away, wondering if he had wrapped it himself. It was too perfectly wrapped for a boy, but she knew that Scorpius tended to be rather meticulous when it came to certain things like presentation, so he very well could have wrapped it himself.

"Wow," Harry murmured as Lily sat there with the box open. Lily's hands shook as she pulled free the small piece of cardstock paper Scorpius had tucked inside.

_I know blue and silver are Ravenclaw colors, but since you've decided to stop wearing your locket, I figured it was time for me to give you something else to wear. True, it pales in beauty when compared to you, I had to try. Hopefully it won't clash with your dress tonight._

"Will it?" Harry asked her. Lily looked up at him confused. Realization that he had read the not over her shoulder caused heat to rise in her cheeks. She shook her head.

"No," Lily said as she swallowed. "It'll be perfect."

"Amazing how they match your eyes perfectly," Harry said. Lily looked up at him. Harry's eyes jumped back and forth from Lily's blue eyes and the delicate blue stones surrounded in almost fragile looking silver. Lily was afraid to touch the necklace or earrings, for fear of breaking or bending them.

"They look too expensive," Lily breathed. Harry chuckled.

"That's a Malfoy for you," Harry said grinning at his daughter. "They're always overtly extravagant."

"Yeah," Lily murmured. Harry kissed the top of her head as he stood, gathering the loose wrappings.

* * *

Lily again forgot about the Slytherin ball and her dress and the very delicate necklace as she entered Grandmother Weasley's house. She embraced the kids, barely able to kiss James and Albus. She commented on how tall they were both getting. She fussed over Lily.

"Dear, are you still not sleeping well? It's those O.W.L.s, right?" Grandmother Weasley said clucking like a mother hen over her chicks.

"Grandmum," Lily groaned but she smiled as the woman handed her a cookie.

"Lily, honey dear, you're my youngest grandbaby, I have to worry," Grandmother Weasley said.

"What about Chewie?" Albus teased. James smacked Albus on the back of the head.

"Albus, Teddy and Vicky don't want you calling their new son Chewie," Grandmother Weasley said as the door opened and Ron and Hermione entered, followed by Rose and Hugo. Lily had laughed, nearly choking on the cookie. She had nearly forgotten that her cousin had a baby over the summer. As if on cue, Teddy Lupin entered carrying a fat little boy with violently blue hair. Lily and Rose squealed.

"Awe, he's so cute," Lily gushed as Rose held the six month old boy. Rose snuggled the baby.

"Thank you," Victoire said smiling.

"Little Chewie!" Albus and Hugo cheered ruffling the baby's hair. Teddy snorted turning his head, hiding a laugh inside a cough.

"His name is Remy, not Chewie," Victoire said fighting a grin. Lily was eager to hold the baby, taking little Remy in her arms. The child looked at her with his wide, silver eyes and wailed. Lily handed him right back to Rose.

"Proof that I don't need to have any kids!" Lily said as she headed away from the baby. James laughed at her.

"It's ok, Lily," Albus teased. "You can't help being so ugly that you scare the baby."

"Very funny," Lily said sarcastically. "When you and Kate have a load of babies, I'll make sure I come around to scare them."

"Hey, don't play like that," Albus said mussing Lily's hair. She slapped his hands away.

"You're the one who's playing," Lily teased.

"Kate's not talking about kids and stuff, is she?" Albus said suddenly worried. Lily laughed at him and walked away. Albus chased after her. "C'mon, you'd tell me wouldn't you?"

"Worried that some of your offspring might end up in Slytherin?" Lily snickered. James laughed, startling Remy. He quickly handed him back to Rose who eased him quickly.

"See, we should have another one," Ron said pointing at the ease of Rose's comforting.

"Rose is seventeen, Hugo's sixteen," Hermione protested. "I do NOT want to start again. I'm too old!" Hermione said as she walked away shaking her head. "Wait a few years and I'm sure we'll have a grandkid or two."

Lily shot Rose a look, who rolled her eyes and Lily took a seat down in one of the chairs near her. Remy cooed from Rose's arms. Lily peeked at the baby, glad to confirm without a doubt that she wanted nothing to do with kids. Sure, she'd have to see them when she was a healer, but Lily knew she was not mother material.

"Biobío had kittens," Grandfather Weasley said as he caught Lily's internal conflict. He was perceptive and could practically read what was going on in the inner workings of Lily's mind.

"Kittens?" Lily said as she refocused on her grandfather.

"Yes," he said smiling. His voice was quiet so that only she could hear the words. "Asher's a granddad, may he rest in peace."

"May I see?" Lily asked hesitantly. Arthur Weasley nodded at his granddaughter and the two left the warmth of the house and trudged through the snow to the small shed where most of his muggle tinkering happened. Lily was quiet as she crept near the cardboard box by the small heater. One of Asher's daughters, a slip up from two summer prior when Grandmother Weasley was keeping Asher and everyone was using the home as a base camp while Ginny was ailing, was sleeping in the box. She was as white and pure as the driven snow. Inside the box were three little kitten that looked just like their mother, just like Asher. They were all short haired, white furred kittens with tiny mews and were full of adorableness. Lily grinned.

"That is the one though I thought was most curious," Arthur told her as he pointed to a partially hidden kitten. It was different than its three brothers and sister. She had long hair and was as black as midnight, except for all white feet and the tip of her tail. All throughout her black fur were the slightest flecks of white.

"She looks like the midnight sky!" Lily exclaimed. The white flecks looked like stars in the sky. Lily looked at her excitedly.

"Yes, she does," Arthur said. "I want you to have her, if you're ready. I know losing Asher was horrific for you, and if nearly two years is not enough time, I understand."

"Granddad," Lily said hugging him. "I love her."

"She'll be ready a few days before you go back to school," he told her as they walked back into the house. "I'll bring her by the house."

"Thank you," Lily said as she hugged him tightly again. He laughed, hugging her back and the two joined the others to eat their afternoon Christmas feast.

* * *

Lily used the floo network home, leaving behind her brothers and fathers who had started marathon games of wizarding chess. Lily showered quickly and dried, styling her hair up. She slipped the hair pins in her hair. She stood in her bedroom, wearing just her slip when the door bell rang.

"COME IN!" Lily shouted from the top of the stairs. The door swung open.

"Lily?" Scorpius called uncertainly.

"I'm upstairs," Lily replied. "Help yourself to anything in the fridge."

"Ok," Draco called. Lily rolled her eyes at her reflection. She had just finished her makeup, which she made sure was light and understated and was slipping into her dress when a knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?" Lily called. Scorpius pushed his way in. The two of them stopped, looking at each other.

"I…" Scorpius trailed off as he tried to form words into coherent sentences.

"I didn't mean, 'Yes, come in', Scorpius. I meant, 'Yes, what do you want?'" Lily replied. Scorpius smiled.

"Well, since I'm already up here. Do you need help?" Scorpius asked. Lily hesitated before she nodded and turned her back to him.

"Zip me up?" she asked as she glanced over at him. Scorpius nodded, his face guarded. He stepped away from her when he finished and she sat down on the edge of bed, pulling on her heels. She didn't want to admit to anyone that she had practiced wearing them so that she could pull off the confidence to wear them. She stood.

"Are you going to wear the gift I gave you?" Scorpius asked quietly. Lily glanced over at him, watching him in the reflection. She smiled, blushing slightly.

"It looks so fragile and delicate," Lily said. "You really shouldn't have spent so much." Scorpius shrugged and crossed to her vanity, picking up the box.

"It only looks fragile, Lils," he promised as he pulled the necklace from the box. He didn't handle it lightly like Lily had when she touched the ornate metalwork. He stepped up behind her, draping it around her neck, his fingers engaging the clasp at the back of her neck. He kissed her neck lightly.

"You know I'm going with Aiden," Lily warned. Scorpius looked at her reflection in the mirror as she put the earring in, their delicate metal and stones cascading from her lobes.

"I know," he said as he pressed his lips to the side of her neck. "This is your fault."

"That you're kissing me?" Lily laughed.

"Yeah," he said grinning. She stepped away.

"Then let me help you break that," Lily said as she grabbed her shawl and draped it over her shoulders. She left him standing alone in her room as she joined Draco Malfoy in the kitchen.

"You look lovely," he said genuinely and Lily blushed.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Lily said.

"Draco," Draco corrected. Lily laughed.

"Sorry," Lily said. She hesitated then added. "Draco."

"Ready to go?" Draco asked her. Lily grabbed her cloak off the hook and slipped into it carefully as Scorpius rejoined them. Lily nodded and took Draco's arm. They apparated from the kitchen to the gates of some Manor. Lily wasn't familiar with this house and she looked at Draco.

"Who's hosting it?" Lily asked curiously as she released his arm. Draco smiled.

"I'm surprised Aiden didn't tell you," Draco said quietly. "His folks are."

"Oh," Lily said.

Lily handed her cloak off to the man at the door, who also took Draco's and Scorpius' cloaks. Lily grinned as she caught her reflection in the mirrored surfaces. She, while never becoming as endowed as Kate had been, she had grown well into her body. The dress, a close fitting shimmery silver dress with a slightly plunging neckline made her look slightly older than fifteen, which was saying a lot being that she tended to still reflect a younger age. She caught Scorpius staring at her as he stepped up to her.

"It's not fair, you know?" Scorpius said.

"What's not?" Lily asked as she felt his hand rest on the small of her back as they made their way in the large party room.

"You're here, looking like that, smelling like that, and I can't even HAVE you," Scorpius said pouting playfully. He looked up to see Hill heading their way. His pout turning from playful to angry. "Damn, he's never going to let me win. I'm never going to win, am I?"

"Funny," Lily laughed as she distanced herself from Scorpius. "Aiden said the same thing."

"Merlin, Lily, you if looks could kill, you'd have murdered everyone in the room," Hill said as he kissed her cheek.

"I don't think that's exactly how that saying goes," Lily said laughing.

"Did you like the gift?" Hill asked as he continued to look at Lily. He couldn't even pull his eyes away from her. Lily's face lit up.

"Oh, god yes, I love it," Lily said enthusiastically. Scorpius cringed at the excited way she practically breathed those words. It was obscene.

"Shall we?" Hill asked, offering Lily his arm. Lily threw Scorpius an almost apologetic smile as she took Hill's arm and was lead away.

"Seventh year," Scorpius called to her. Lily looked back and grinned.

"You know it," Lily said.

"What was that about?" Hill asked just before they got out of earshot.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Lily teased as she touched his arm. "Show me around this beautiful house."

"My pleasure," Hill said as the disappeared into the crowd. Scorpius grabbed a drink off the roaming tray closest to him, not caring what it was. He downed it in a quick gulp, the sickly sweet syrup taste coating his mouth. He made a face. He hated anise liquor.

"Dude, did I see you come with Lily?" Damon asked excitedly. Scorpius made a face.

"We just brought her here," Scorpius said.

"Shame, because if you don't mind me saying, she's looking great tonight," Damon said as he watched her. Scorpius growled at him, causing Damon to laugh. "You know I don't think of her in those terms, to me she's just a teammate, but dressed up like a girl you really have to appreciate her on a physical level."

"Don't," Scorpius said shaking his head. He looked pathetic. "It's killing me letting her be here with anyone but me."

"Did you tell her that you loved her?" Damon asked. Scorpius shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, of course I did," he said. Damon shrugged.

"Huh," he said perplexed. Scorpius raked his hand through his hair.

"It's foolish to think she's just going to dump Hill because I finally stepped up," Scorpius said. "She wouldn't be my smart, funny Lily if it wasn't for that."

"Well, technically," Damon said hesitantly. "She's not your Lily at all. Looks to me like she might be Hill's Lily."

"She's no one's Lily," Scorpius corrected as his eyes fell on Lily again. He saw Hill's hand guiding her, his hand touching the small of her back and Scorpius fought the urge to break Aiden Hill's hand right off at the wrist. "I need to get some air."

"A'right man," Damon said waving him off as Scorpius wove in and out of the others and headed out the back door in a hurry. He gulped the icy air, anything to calm the anger and hurt that coursed through his veins.

"Score, are you ok?" her soft voice invaded his mind as she touched his shoulder. He glance over at her, her bare arms exposed.

"Jeeze, Lils," Scorpius said whipping off his dress coat and wrapping it around her. "You'll catch your death out here. For the smartest witch I know, you can be so dumb sometimes."

"Great, I'm dumb now?" Lily laughed. Scorpius hesitated before he wrapped his arms around her.

"You make dumb choices sometimes," Scorpius admitted. "Speaking of, where's Hill?"

"Aiden is off doing something for his dad," Lily said. The two were quiet, the sounds of the party were muffled by the closed doors. There was a quiet whispering of wind as new snow drifted down in downy flakes.

"This feels familiar," Scorpius said. He pressed his face against the back of her neck. "It feels good."

"Yes," Lily breathed as his breath tickled her neck.

"Do you remember our first ball together?" Scorpius asked his lips brushed the back of her neck. Lily couldn't help but grin.

"Yes, of course," Lily breathed excitedly. "Where's a bit of mistletoe when you need it?"

"Lils," Scorpius groaned as he spun her around to face him. He tilted her chin back so that he could look at her. "Merlin, Lily. You never need mistletoe."

And then he kissed her until she was breathless and her toes curled.

"This is not good," Scorpius breathed as he tucked his face against hers. She had her eyes closed, still enclosed in his warm arms.

"Hmm?" She murmured.

"This situation is not good," Scorpius told her.

"Hmm?" She murmured again. He chuckled.

"You really think I'm going to let Hill even remotely think that he's going to lay his hands on you?" Scorpius asked incredulously. "You may not be able to drop him, but I'm certainly not going to hand you over to him. Whether you like it or not, Lily. I love you with all my heart and soul. Malfoys only give their hearts to one person for life. You've ruined me."

"Sure," Lily giggled. "Blame the poor, defensive girl in high heels and a silver dress."

"Oh, yeah, the dress," Scorpius said making a teasingly pained face. "You must have wanted to drive me insane with that. How could you wear something so appealing and then taunt me with it."

"It?" Lily asked raising her eyebrow.

"Surely you know I love you, but I bet you didn't know that I want you, as well," Scorpius dared to whisper. A faint flush of Lily's skin intensified that stirring desire. "I'm not the only one, you know. Not that this helps my cause but you've been turning quite a few heads all night long."

"You tease," Lily said.

"I do, but not about this," Scorpius chuckled.

"Damn, it's a shame," Lily said as she looked down at the ground with mock morose. Not picking up on the playfulness of her mood, Scorpius looked momentarily concerned.

"What is?" Scorpius asked as he ran his fingers against her cheek.

"Nothing, only…" Lily taunted lightly.

"Only what?" Scorpius asked as panic swelled slightly.

"Gee, Score, are you ok?" Lily suddenly asked as she looked up at him. He was deathly pale, which was saying something as he was normally the same alabaster coloring as Lily. His cheeks burned bright red.

"Ok?" he asked suddenly confused.

"We should go find your dad," Lily said alarmed as she touched his face. It felt like molten lava. Scorpius shook his head, trying to clear it.

"What's a shame?" Scorpius weakly demanded as he swayed on the spot. Lily grabbed at him to steady him.

"I should go get your dad. You don't look well," Lily said as the alarm grew into sheer panic.

"Tell me what's a shame," Scorpius begged. Lily touched his face.

"I choose you," Lily said firmly.

"Oh, good," Scorpius said. He forced a smile, kissing her cheek, and then collapsed on the newly fallen snow.


	27. Waking

A/N: Thanks again to my steady reviewers. Cookies and Juices boxes to all of you. I know the last chapter was insanely long, and I am sorry. I just couldn't see breaking it up.

Disc.: I created plot twist and heart ache. You'll see the latter soon enough. Sorry in advance.

Waking

* * *

It was dark in the room, very quiet and for a second confusion set in for Scorpius. He sat up, wondering what had happened. He stretched, feeling fine. He shrugged, trying to recall the last thing he could remember. He and Lily had been at the ball. She was wearing his coat. She had said something and he had kissed her cheek. He could recall nothing more. He stood and dressed, wondering what had happened and how long he had been out.

He was home, the house was silent. He thought of calling out but instead strained his ears listening. He heard a peal of laughter and he froze. She was here, his Lily. He rushed along following where the echo of the sound still reverberated. As he moved closer to the kitchen, he could hear the sound of people talking. He was confused as he picked up the pace to the kitchen. He pushed the door open and stood blinking in the blinding sunlight.

"You're awake," Narcissa said smiling at her grandson. He barely registered her. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Lily.

"What happened to you?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked up, grinning. She was covered head to toe in flour.

"That'd be my fault," Narcissa said smiling. "I turned the mixer on too high and sort of coated us both in flour."

Scorpius looked at his grandmother to see that she, too, had a fine dusting of flour. It was less noticeable in her light hair or on her light colored clothes. Lily's dark auburn hair contrasted heavily with it and she was wearing what was probably a vivid red shirt before the flour incident. Lily's hair was pulled up simply in a knot and she watched him, concern in her eyes.

"Are you feeling any better?" Lily asked.

"What happened last night at the ball?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at Narcissa with suppressed alarm.

"The ball was three days ago," Narcissa said calmly. "You passed out from a stress induced exhaustion."

"I may never confess my love again," Lily teased. Scorpius looked at her horrified.

"You confessed it?"

"You don't remember?" Lily said frowning.

"I remember kissing you," Scorpius said.

"Which time? You did that quite a bit," Lily said blushing. "Please tell me that I didn't end things completely with Aiden for nothing."

"You ended it with Aiden?" Scorpius asked.

"Ugh, your amnesia is frustrating," Lily grumbled.

"I have amnesia?" Scorpius asked. Lily and Narcissa laughed.

"No, dear, you don't. You just caught some little illness, nothing more than a cold, that was so much worse because of all that stress," Narcissa said. Scorpius flushed.

"I can't believe I passed out," Scorpius said.

"Don't worry, no one knew," Lily said.

"How could they have not?" Scorpius groaned.

"They didn't exactly wheel you out of there on a medic stretcher," Lily laughed. "I went and got your dad and he apparated you out of there. Aiden had to bring me home."

"That's worse than being wheeled out of there on a stretcher," Scorpius said as he sunk down on the bench.

"It gave me a chance to finalize things with Aiden on a positive note so that there were no hard feelings," Lily said. She looked away, back to the bowl.

"Did you kiss him good night?" Scorpius barely asked.

"That's not really your concern, Scorpius," Narcissa said gently. "What matters is that Lily has been here for three days and you've been a bad host, sleeping straight through."

"You've been staying here?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked up, shrugging.

"I was driving my dad and brothers crazy for information. James was getting sick of apparating me over here to check on you, so the last time he just left me. That was two days ago. Are you hungry?" Lily asked as she pulled a fresh batch of blueberry muffins from the stove. The scent hit Scorpius like a brick wall and he was suddenly starving. Lily grinned and placed three huge muffins on a plate in front of him.

"How long are you staying?" Scorpius asked. Lily pouted playfully.

"Already ready for me to leave?" she teased.

"No, I just wanted to know how long I'd have with you," Scorpius said as he shoved one of the bigger pieces into his mouth. It barely fit.

"Well, school starts back up in a week or so," Lily said. "And I have to go home before then to pack and to get to meet my new kitten, Star."

"New kitten?" Scorpius asked.

"Asher's daughter had a litter," Lily said. She beamed. "The great Ash and the great Asher live on in their decedents."

"You think you're ready?" he asked quietly. Lily laughed and nodded.

"Life is about change," she said. "I had to move on at some time, and this was perfect timing."

"So, you'll stay a few days?" he asked.

"If it's ok with your dad and grandmother, yes," Lily said. Scorpius immediately looked to the elder woman. She nodded once. Scorpius cheered, grabbing Lily around the waist, not caring that he was getting flour on him.

"Fantastic, I get you for a few days all to myself," Scorpius said. "We have to go on our first date together, our first official date. Tonight."

"Why tonight?" Lily asked as she dabbed a little flour on Scorpius' nose.

"Why waste a moment?" Scorpius countered.

"Well, so you know, I only have a few changes of clothes," Lily warned him. "No where nicer than jeans and tee shirts."

"No worries," Scorpius said with a wicked glint in his eyes. Lily's smile wavered.

"That's my first hint that I need to worry," Lily said.

"Trust me," Scorpius said. Lily laughed.

"Fine," Lily said as she crossed her arms. "But I swear to god that if you are going to go around fainting on me when we kiss, that's not going to bode well for our relationship."

"Ooh, we're going to kiss?" Scorpius teased. Lily rolled her eyes. He thought a moment. "But I do like the sound of us having a relationship."

"You are so weird!" Lily laughed as she turned back to the baking that she and Narcissa were doing.

"I'd never taken you as a baker, Mum," Draco smirked as he entered the kitchen, dressed for work.

"Young Lily here has really shown me how therapeutic it is to punch and fight the dough," Narcissa laughed. Draco looked at Scorpius.

"Feeling better?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," Scorpius said blushing.

"Don't let yourself get run down like that, son," Draco chastised. "If need be, take some sleeping potion or something."

"Will do, Pops," Scorpius said smirking. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'm off to the office. Night shift," Draco said. "I'm sure that your dad will be happy to have you home."

"Actually, Dad, Lils' going to stay a few more days before she goes home," Scorpius said. He added as a second thought. "If that's ok with you and Harry, that is."

"It's fine with me," Draco said. "I'll see what Harry says and owl home if he wants her home sooner."

"Thanks," Lily said grinning at the man. Draco looked at her and couldn't help but smile. Though her coloring was different, her spirit reminded her of Infamy. She was sweet but spunky.

"Never a problem, Lily," Draco said before he apparate out of existence. Lily looked back to the big balls of dough.

"So, we're ready to bake them!" Lily said cheerfully.

"And then off to the showers," Scorpius said. Lily and Narcissa looked at him in surprise and he couldn't help but blush. "I meant alone."

"Sure you did," Lily said under her breath. Scorpius laughed and watched as his grandmother and Lily finished up. Lily started to wash the dishes.

"Leave them for the house elves," Narcissa told her. "They're probably going out of their minds not being able to do anything."

"Ok," Lily said as she joined Scorpius on the hike back upstairs. Her room was across the hall from his, and he followed her. "Are you feeling better, really? I didn't realize that you were under so much stress, and then not sleeping properly. If I had known, I wouldn't have tried to make things so much worse on you."

"So you were making me suffer,"' Scorpius taunted. Lily looked at him warily.

"You suffered?" She asked. He shook his head immediately.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," he promised. He laughed and started going through her clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Picking out something for you to wear on our date tonight," Scorpius said.

"Huh," Lily grunted as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.

"What?" Scorpius said. Lily shrugged.

"Nothing, just you've not been well or fully conscience in a few days," Lily said pursing her lips. "Don't you think you should take it easy?"

"Not a chance," he said. "I'm not wasting a moment of my time with you sitting at home."

"How about we order in for dinner since your dad's going to be working the late shift tonight and your grandmother is going out with friends," Lily suggested. "My treat."

"Your treat?" he said frowning.

"Yeah, I have like thirty on me," Lily said. "You guys have that huge television and all those movies in that big room."

"You went into the big room?" Scorpius asked frowning slightly.

"Your dad told me it was your mum's favorite room," Lily said quietly. "He gave me permission to watch the movies and to hang out in there. If it's too much for you, we can watch a movie in another room. You guys have plenty."

"No, its fine," Scorpius said quickly. "I'm just surprised, that's all. My mum would be thrilled that someone was using that room. But, I'm not going to let you treat me, Lils. I'll order something for us."

"Oh, ok," Lily said grinning. She grabbed kissed his face very chastely and skipped off to the bathroom to take a shower. She was surprised to see Scorpius not waiting for her. She went looking for him, walking barefoot through the halls and room. She headed down to the kitchens to see the house elves had completely cleaned the kitchen. The kitchen was void of life though the warmth of fresh baked breads still lingered in the air.

"Lily?" Scorpius called. Lily felt her face bloom into a smile and she headed up towards the big room.

"Scorpius," Lily said as she stepped into the big room. He laughed and patted the large sofa next to him.

"I ordered Chinese from China," he said. "Hope you don't mind. I apparated there and back while you were in the shower."

"I don't mind," Lily said as she peeked at the food. She looked at him, wrinkling her nose and grinning. "You really went all the way to China and back?"

"Yeah," he said shrugging. "No big deal."

"To think I have two more years before I can apparate on my own," Lily said thoughtfully. She suddenly slapped Scorpius' upper arm hard.

"What was that for?" he asked as he rubbed his arm.

"The whole point of us staying in was so that you could rest," she said crossing her arms. "I think I should protest by not eating this."

"Too bad," Scorpius said as he speared some sort of brown sauce covered chicken. He took a little bite and made an obscenely pleasure-filled noise. "It's _so_ good, Lily. To _die _for, even. _So_ worth going out."

"Mhmm…" Lily said as her stomach growled. "Traitor."

"One bite?" Scorpius coaxed as he waved the speared meat in front of her. Lily rolled her eyes and took a bite.

"Oh, Merlin that's good," Lily said as she tried to take the container. Scorpius held it back.

"Get your own, Lils," he teased. He nodded to another take away container. The two ate in silence, savoring the food and company that they kept.

"So, what movie did you choose for us?" Lily asked as they cleared the table with the help of an over eager house elf.

"_The Camp_," Scorpius said. Lily shrugged.

"I've never heard of that one," Lily said. Lily quickly figured out why. She wasn't really big into horror movies. This was one of the goriest flicks she had seen. She was shaking, she was so terrified.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked.

"This is just scary," Lily admitted. Scorpius chuckled and pulled her into his arms. It was just in time, the movie went from horrifying to downright terrifying. He had his arms around her body tucked between his and the back of the sofa. As the lead murdering monster jumped up on screen, she turned her face into his chest, burying her face. Scorpius laughed quietly as he stroked her hair and continued to hold her.

"Are you ok now?" Scorpius asked as he dipped his mouth to her ear.

"Better," Lily said honestly as the room grew silent. The movie had ended in a full out blood in guts scene where no one survived. There was no hope of a sequel.

"Good," Scorpius said as he lowered his mouth to hers. He kissed her easily first, sweetly. He gauged her response to know how much further he should go, how quickly to move. He tallied where they were at in a relationship.

"First date," Lily said.

"What?" Scorpius said shocked as he pulled back. He looked at her in surprise.

"You asked where we were in our relationship," Lily said as she looked at him in confusion. He didn't remember saying anything at all.

"I did?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a look of concern. "Didn't you hear yourself?"

"No," Scorpius said slowly.

"Maybe you should go to bed and rest," Lily said with grievous apprehension. "If my being here is too stressful, I'll leave."

"No, Lils," Scorpius said. "I just wasn't… I didn't realize I had said what I was thinking."

"So you want me to stay?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," he said as he kissed her again. She felt the warmth from within her building despite the cool air of the room. His muscles were tight, taut as his hands cupped her face. She was on her back, sinking deeply into the soft cushions of the sofa. He pressed into her, exciting her even with the layers of clothes between them.

"Have you ever?" Lily asked timidly as his mouth moved from her mouth to her neck.

"Have I what?" Scorpius asked distractedly.

"Ever?" Lily clarified further.

"Ever what?" Scorpius inquired.

"Been with a girl," Lily said in a quiet gasp as his mouth brushed the hollow at the base of her neck. He pulled back, looking at her.

"Is… is that where this is heading?" He asked and for a moment he sounded just as uncertain as she did.

"I don't know," she said.

"You're only fifteen," he implored. A smile spread across her lips.

"Again with the too young thing," she teased lightly.

"Have you?" he countered. He pressed against her a little firmer. "Have you ever let a boy this close to you, when you were sober?"

"No," she whispered as she felt his fingers on her skin. It burned hot like an unwieldy flame, a torch that burned deep below the surface of her skin. He smiled a little, watching her face as he unfastened the button to her jeans.

"Have you thought about us in those terms?" he asked knowing the answer.

"No," she lied. He laughed.

"You're not ready, Lily," he told her.

"I am," she lied. He pulled his hands away from her jeans and instead touched her face.

"I love you, Lily," he said as he kissed her again.

"I love you too, Scorpius," Lily said honestly. Scorpius laughed.

"That's the first honest answer you have given me in so many questions, love," he teased her gently. Lily bit her bottom lip slightly.

"You never answered if you ever have," Lily reminded him gently. He chuckled.

"I've not. I'm very picky," he said. Lily suddenly looked hurt. Seeing that she misunderstood, he shook his head. "Lily I want to with you, I need to with you. Every girl pales to you. You are the only one that I want, but I'm not about to rush this with you. This is our first date. I don't plan on sleeping with you on our first date."

"Hmm… well, that's kind of not your choice," Lily said. "I plan on sleeping with you. At least, in the bed with you."

"Ugh, I don't know if I could stand to have you that close and not be able to have you or touch you," Scorpius said honestly. "I don't know if I could behave myself."

"Well, you were the one who chose a scary movie," Lily murmured as he let her up from the couch. The two walked back to his room, not really focusing on it. She turned to him. "So… can I stay the night with you?"

"Damn it Lily," Scorpius growled as her fingers touched the skin of his neck. She laughed. He sighed. "You know I can't say no to you."

"Really? Because I've been trying to get you to date me for five years," Lily smirked. Scorpius rolled his eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I will never tell you no unless I think it is in your best interest Lily," Scorpius said corrected. She laughed, grabbing his jeans by the belt loops.

"You'd better never tell me no again," Lily laughed again as she closed the door behind her. She kissed him and the two of them tumbled back against his oversized bed.


	28. Pieces of a Broken Heart

A/N: This is actually my second attempt at chapter 28 (I will be using the first attempt later on). It skips ahead several times in the chapter and is a bit shorter. Sorry it's taking so long, but you have to understand that there are a lot of stories running around my head. I have been writing them down, so check out my fictionpress account for the non-fanfiction ones and this account for the fanfiction ones. Good times. Things should pick up faster now, and we will be skipping ahead.

Disc.: I created what you don't recognize.

* * *

Piece of a Broken Heart

She was distracting in every sense of the word. Lily sat surrounded by her fellow fifth year students, pouring over the large books as they studied for their fast approaching O.W.L.s and the common room reflected that atmosphere. It was after Easter now, spring was in full bloom, and the fifth and seventh years were anxiously holed up in the common room. Lily was good, keeping her eyes to herself, but the same couldn't be said about Scorpius.

"Dude," Damon said. "Just go talk to her. Hasn't this gone on long enough?"

"No," Scorpius said sharply and he blushed as he focused on his studies. Neither of them had told anyone of their relationship. It was more fun, more exciting for them to keep it quiet. Scorpius snuck another look at Lily. She was totally focused on her book, her eyes scanning the page in an almost frantic way. It was forty-eight hours until go time for the O.W.L.s, twenty four for the N.E.W.T.s, and the tension was so thick it would take a chainsaw to cut through it.

Lily's now six month old cat, Skye, was batting at the tassel on Lily's bookmark. Lily glanced up at that moment, her eyes finding Scorpius' looking back at her and she smiled, eliciting a grin from him. They had been very good not to get caught. Lily let her mind wander back to that first night, the night she had fallen completely and helpless under Scorpius Malfoy's spell and into his bed.

_Their mouths had fused and moved in time, unable to break even for breath. They had tasted each other on each other's lips, fingers tangled in the hair of each other. Lily was thrilled; excited by the way his fingers on her flesh sent thrills down her spine. Desire knotted up in her stomach and her fingers dug into his bare shoulders, though she couldn't remember where his shirt had gone. Her heart was racing hard, aching to get closer to Scorpius than humanly possible._

_They breathed in time, unaware of the sounds they were making until one particularly loud grunt caused Lily to freeze, her eyes wide at Scorpius. In that moment of clarity, she was certain she wanted to be with him completely but she wasn't sure she was quite ready for that kind of relationship. Scorpius looked at her with his eyes still hazy with lust. He blinked at her._

_"I want you," Scorpius breathed. Lily nodded. He smiled ruefully and rolled to his back, still panting. "I told you that I wasn't sure I could be that close to you and not touch you."_

_"I know," Lily said as she pressed her face against his chest. Scorpius' heart was racing as fast as hers. "I'm sorry."_

_"No, Lily," Scorpius said sharply. "Don't be. I love this. I love you."_

_"I love you too," Lily said. Scorpius breathed in sharply as she shifted slightly._

_"Maybe we should just go to sleep," he said. "I don't think we're quite ready."_

Scorpius looked up to see Lily staring intently, though she wasn't really focused on him. There was a cloud of desire hazing her gaze. Her face was glowing, cheeks pink with increased blood flow and he knew she had been thinking about that night. He had caught her thinking about it more than she was not thinking of it. She seemed to replay the scene over and over in her head, as did he, but her reaction always excited Scorpius beyond comprehension.

Shale nudged her roughly, waving his watch in front of her face. Lily snapped out of whatever little trance she was in and jumped up, reminded that she had patrol. Her eyes fell on Scorpius and her heart picked up the pace. She was patrolling with him, which meant they'd patrol half-heartedly before sneaking off to a broom closet. Scorpius casually watched as Lily gathered her belongings and Skye in her arms, heading back to her dorm. She returned, not surprise to see Scorpius standing by the portrait hole for her.

The two walked along the corridor together silently as they looked for offending students. They pasted James and another Gryffindor prefect, nodding once in silent greeting as they walked by them. After a few minutes, they tumbled into a broom closet, their mouths locked and arms wrapped around each other. Neither could seem to get close enough to each other, shirts pulled free of their neatly tucked in bottoms, kisses pressed along every square inch of each other's exposed skin. They both knew that they wouldn't do much more, not that deep down they didn't want to, but they were afraid.

Still, Lily let herself push against him a little firmer, tangling her fingers in his hair. She could feel him smiling under her kisses and she couldn't think of a place that she wanted to be more, with him. He laughed and pulled her fingers free.

"We can't be gone forever," he breathed. "Unless you're ready to make this public."

"Gee, Score," Lily said as his mouth traced the outline of her jaw. "I just don't want to have all those people looking at me."

"Too late, Lils," Scorpius murmured. He grinned. "You may not notice it, but everyone's looking at you, always. You're just too irresistible."

"You're biased," Lily accused with a smile. He shrugged noncommittally.

"Maybe," he said. He checked his watch. "Well, we have exams coming up in the coming hours. Perhaps we should head back to the common room for a bit more studying."

"Yeah, you're right," Lily said sighing. She threw herself into his arms for one last hair mussing moment before she pulled herself free, righted her clothes, and headed back to the common room. She took her seat between Shale and Kate like she hadn't been gone at all.

* * *

Lily was relieved when the exams were over with. She was also very relieved to have not been the one to have an emotional breakdown. That had been Nina who ended up having to be lead to the hospital wing to collect herself with the aid of a calming potion. Lily tucked herself under a tree, her body fitting between two roots. She had no intention to do as the others had and go over the exam to see what they might have missed. She didn't see the point. The test was over with. There was nothing more to be done.

"Hey, Lily," Damon said as he came across her sitting under the tree. She looked up, shielding her eyes.

"Damon," she replied.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked. Lily nodded. Gesturing to the spot next to her.

"What's been up Damon?" Lily asked.

"You and Scorpius have been patrolling together a lot," Damon said cautiously. Lily shrugged, turning back to looking out over the water. She was proud of herself, not blushing at the mention of Scorpius and her name in the same sentence.

"It seems that way," Lily said noncommittally. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered if he mentioned anything to you?" Damon asked.

"About?" Lily asked as she looked at him.

"Well, Scorpius and I were all set to leave a day or two after school released to start our two year worldwide back packing expedition and all of a sudden, he's talking about delaying it and even possibly cancelling it," Damon said in distress. "It's just so sudden. He's been wanting to do this since our third year and now, practically on the eve of our departure he's pulling out."

"I can try talking to him, if you like," Lily offered lightly.

"I tried talking with him," Damon groaned. "I just thought maybe… perhaps he mentioned what was tethering him?"

"No, he's not mentioned anything to me," Lily said. She patted Damon's arm. "I'm sure it will work out."

"I just don't want him to have regrets and resentments when he realizes what he's missed out on," Damon said as he stood.

"Me neither," Lily said as she bit her lip and stared back out over the water. She knew he was staying behind because of her.

* * *

Lily found herself in his arms later that night, his fingers making exciting shapes on her skin as their mouths moved together. Lily let it continue for a few more minutes before she pulled away from Scorpius. She had asked him a few times what his plans were for the summer, each time just getting vague answers. She stood and started righting her clothes. He watched her carefully guarded as she looked at him.

"Is something wrong, Lils?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him, biting her lip. She didn't want to do this. She knew down deep inside her that it was wrong, but she couldn't let him have regrets and resentments. Not over her.

"I want to talk to you," she said. She remained on the opposite side of the room of requirement as she finished tucking her shirt in.

"About?" he asked.

"This, us," Lily said quietly. Scorpius looked at her surprised.

"What about us?" he asked. "Are you ready to bring it out into the open?"

"Quite the opposite, Scorpius," Lily said carefully. She hoped he could just understand, move on, and they could try to pick thing up when he returned.

"Opposite?" Scorpius asked confused. Lily felt her heart shattering into a million little pieces and she fought the tears that pricked and stung in her eyes.

"This has been really fun, Scorpius," Lily said quietly as she struggled internally with the part of her that wanted to rush to him and give her body to him.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Scorpius asked after a minute. Realization filled his eyes, causing them to go wide first with surprise before he narrowed them with suspicion.

"It's not you," Lily promised. "I just don't think I can wait for you. I've decided to see if perhaps Aiden and I should have a proper go at it, since he and I are so much closer in age."

"Hill?" Scorpius said coldly. Lily shrugged, which to her felt like she was trying to shrug with the weight of an elephant on her shoulders.

"He's going pro, you know?" She said.

"Oh," Scorpius said coldly. She smiled.

"We had fun," Lily said lightly. Her false calm was barely hanging on with a thin thread that threatened to break and send her hurtling over the cliff of hysterics. He looked at her with anger, though she wondered if he was masking his hurt with false anger. She shook her head. He was really angry.

"Why now?" he asked. Lily shrugged again.

"It's been a long time coming," Lily said as her voice threatened to thicken from her unshed tears. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," he said coolly, collecting himself and stalking out the door. Lily waited until she knew it was safe to leave the room of requirement. Lily frowned as she headed into the girls lavatory, tears already spilling down her face. She knew she was doing the right thing, she was certain of it, but still, it felt so terrible. She wanted nothing more than to be selfish and keep Scorpius to herself. She knew that she couldn't. It wouldn't be fair.

She sunk down below the windows, her face in her hands. She could feel the tearing feeling as her body allowed the hole tear itself larger there in the middle of her chest, the ache that conversed into a burn that she wasn't sure she could manage. She felt the sting of tears as the erupted from her face and cascaded down her cheeks. The tears pooled in her hands, flooding over the sides of her hands. She felt sick. She couldn't catch her breath.

She had let him go.

* * *

Lily pulled herself together for the last few days of school. She compromised with herself. She need only get through the last few days of school without having a break down, then she could spend the whole summer wallowing in herself pity. That way, by the time the new school year started, she could start again, face another school year, without Scorpius.

"Lily," Hill said as he caught up with her. Lily looked surprised to see him but she smiled. It would figure that it would get back to Hill one way or another, though that wasn't right. No one knew about Lily and Scorpius, no one would know they broke up and that Lily had used Hill as an out.

"Aiden, hi," she said smiling in what she hoped was a genuine smile.

"How do you think you did on your O.W.L.s?" he asked. Lily shrugged.

"I did my best, that's all I could hope to do, y'know?" she said. He nodded grinning.

"I'm sure you did fine," Hill said.

"So you're not going to do your N.E.W.T.s next year?" Lily asked. He shrugged.

"I'll probably take the test, but mostly I am looking forward to being on the team," he said. He grinned. "Promise you'll come see me practice this summer?"

"Gee, I don't know, Aiden," Lily said hesitantly. She didn't want to plan anything that had her climbing out of bed and actually interacting with people.

"It would mean the world to me, Lily," Aiden said. Lily sighed.

"Just drop me an owl and let me know," she said. He laughed, hugging her tightly before he ran off. Lily shook her head and turned the corner, just to come face to face with Damon and Scorpius. She felt her heart throb in a taunting manner.

"Lily, hey!" Damon said brightly. Lily tore her eyes away from Scorpius and focused on Damon.

"Hey, there," Lily said brightly.

"I'll catch you later, Damon," Scorpius grunted, brushing past Lily. She nearly touched his hand, but she knew it would be worse for him. She couldn't let him think that there was still hope.

"So, is Scorpius going on your trip?" Lily asked. Damon nodded.

"He's angry as hell, for whatever you said to him," Damon said.

"He didn't tell you?" Lily asked. Damon shook his head.

"And I wasn't about to ask," Damon said. He shrugged. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not know. I am sure that whatever you said pissed him off, and that's well enough. Thank you. He's really pissed but one day he will thankful that you pushed him to go. He was being totally stupid about not wanting to go. It's going to be a trip of a lifetime."

"I bet," Lily said.

"Anything the matter?" Damon asked. Lily smiled weakly and shook her head.

"Just glad that this year is almost over," Lily said.

"I guess I'll see you around?" Damon asked.

"The train and then who knows, y'know?" Lily murmured. Damon nodded and hugged her.

"You take care, Lily," Damon said. "You're super great."

"No problem," Lily said as she pulled away from him. She smiled again, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Good bye always make me sad. Don't mind me."

"Don't think of it as a good bye, Lily," Damon said. "Think of it as a until next time."

"I'll try, Damon, I will," Lily said. She bit her lip. "Oh, and will you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Lily," he said grinning.

"Will you make sure he's ok?" Lily asked. "Will you make sure that Scorpius is ok?"

"He's my best friend," Damon said. "I'll make sure it all works out."

* * *

Lily took her spot in the prefect compartment, her eyes focused on her hands as she listened to the head girl talking. The head girl was crying, which caused Lily to feel better that she was welling up. She let her tears spilled when she saw that the other girls were crying, though Lily wasn't crying about it being the end of another year, but that she had given up Scorpius. She didn't want to let him go but she was left with no other option. She dared to look up at Scorpius, but he wasn't looking at her.

Lily sighed.

She felt like she had no right to be upset. She was the one who broke up with Scorpius for his own good. She had used Aiden Hill to achieve the maximum heart breaking affect, though Aiden was unaware of it. It had helped her to have the little interaction between her and Aiden, to make it less likely that Scorpius would try anything.

Before she knew it, Lily felt the train pull to a stop in King's Crossing. She grabbed her bags and started heading off the train. A tug on her jacket had Lily turn. A first year girl stood there looking at Lily. The child looked confused but said nothing.

"I'm supposed to give you this," she said thrusting something into Lily's hand before running off to gather her own stuff. Lily looked down at the box, uncertain. She touched the ornately carved ivory box and opened it. Inside there, was a note:

_You broke my heart, so take the pieces and do what you will with them._

Inside was a beautiful metallic looking rock, smooth and shiny in the shape of a heart. It looked like it was broken in half quite roughly. Lily's eyes jerked up to see Scorpius step from the train. Their eyes landed on each other for the longest moment. Lily felt the tears welling up in her eyes and she jerked her eyes away from him, but not before she caught him brush away a tear.


	29. A Letter

**A/N:** Have I mentioned that I really hate my biology class lately? Well, I do. I have gotten a few unhappy reviewers about the last chapter, but I have to say… trust me. To those who are threatening to leave, by all means leave. I won't beg anyone to stay. I am currently balancing three fan-fictions, one fiction, a book deal, biology homework, and four kids while readying my husband for boot camp (we got the call today!!). My hands are full (thus the delays in my releases), and I promise it is worth the heartache. Oh, and to the person who said "Talk to him sensibly for one rather than like some immature teen who thinks she's the heroine of a romantic novel." She is, after all, a teenager. Who KNOWS why they do half the stuff they do? I know I was pretty idiotic sometimes when it came to love back then.

**Disc.:** All the unfamiliarity is mine.

* * *

A Letter

The house was dead silent as Lily stood in front of the mirror, brushing her hair before she pulled it back into a ponytail and finally brought her eyes to meet their mirrored twin. She smiled, thinking that it suited her, this age. She had celebrated another birthday the night before, the last one of her school career. She'd have to wait until Christmas break to take her apparation test to get her license. She was fine with that, though she had done perfectly during the training sessions and was told she'd pass with flying colors once she was old enough.

Lily was seventeen.

She smiled at the thought, a full grown witch now. She didn't have to walk down stairs to get a book anymore, she just needed to whip out her wand and say the magic words and the book would be in her hand. She let her eyes fall on the ornate ivory box on her vanity and sighed. She knew that any sane person would have hidden away that piece of memory away, but she didn't. She let Scorpius' final 'gift' to her serve as a reminder. She did not need the heartache when things went wrong. It served to remind her that there was no one quite able to fill that hole in her heart.

"Lily?" Harry called quietly as he entered the young woman's bedroom. Lily looked at her father.

"I'm nearly done," Lily said as she snatched the box off the vanity and put it safely in her bag. She grabbed her wand and started toward the door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Harry asked. Lily looked over and groaned.

"My head girl badge, yeah," Lily said blushing as she grabbed it off the vanity and shoved it in her bag a little roughly.

"You should be proud," Harry said. "No one in our family has been head anything since Uncle Percy."

"Please do not lump me in with Uncle Percy," Lily groaned as she grinned and the two apparated straight into the apparation chamber at the platform Nine and Three Quarters, luggage in tow.

"After this year, I'll be so alone, all alone, forever," Harry said with mock sadness. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Please, Dad," Lily said. "You've been dating here and there and think how much easier it will get when you aren't constantly playing mother hen to me."

"I would be the father hen," Harry countered. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"Dad, hens are all mothers, roosters are the father," Lily retorted, grinning. Harry laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"Above all, I'm going to miss you most, Lily Bean," Harry said quietly. "You are my last baby home, and now here you are about to embark on your last year of school."

"This is a happy time, Dad," Lily promised. He nodded.

"Just promise me something Lily," he said. Lily looked at him in surprise but nodded once.

"Anything Dad," Lily said.

"Don't have regrets," he said. Lily tilted her head slightly, wondering for a second if he was talking so much for his own benefit as hers. Lily smiled at him warmly.

"Everything I do or have done has always had a purpose," Lily promised him. Harry smiled back and nodded.

"I know, but still," Harry said. He lowered his voice slightly. "It's ok to be selfish sometimes."

"I'll keep that in mind when I owl you my Christmas list," Lily teased.

"You know I give you whatever you want," Harry laughed at her. Lily joined in and hugged him tightly.

"I'm going to miss you, Dad," Lily said.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Lily," he said with his voice getting thick. Lily kissed his cheek and started for the train. She was eager to meet the Head Boy and get this year started and over with. Shale whipped his arm out, stopping her from climbing aboard the train.

"Shale!" Lily said as she dropped her bags and threw herself into a tight hug. "How was your summer?"

"Fantastic," he said. He leaned closer to Lily. "I am Head Boy."

"That's fantastic. I'm Head Girl," Lily grinned.

"To top it off, I asked Nina to marry me," Shale said. Lily's grin broadened and she embraced him again, squealing at some insanely loud pitch. Shale grinned.

"Oh, Shale. You and Nina are perfect for each other," Lily said.

"We were keeping it quiet until after graduation," Shale warned. "But I doubt Nina would be able to keep it from Callie and you."

"I am so happy for you," Lily said honestly. Shale grinned as he scooped up the handle of her trunk and lead into the Heads' compartment. Out of nowhere, Nina flew throwing her arms around Lily in joy.

"LILY!" Nina cheered. "Did you hear?"

"I am so happy for you," Lily said as Nina squeezed her tighter.

"So did Albus convince Kate to come back to school?" Nina asked. Lily rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"No," Lily said. "She's still set on getting married. My dad and her parents are up in arms, so they snuck away a few weeks back."

"Stupid," Shale said shaking his head.

"As if you wouldn't do the same thing, Shale Zabini," Lily said laughing. "If Nina asked?

"Well, if Nina asked, then, that's different," Shale said. Nina and Lily laughed as Shale put Lily's luggage in the compartment before trotting off to find a place to spend some alone time with Nina. Lily watched as the new little first years nervously hugged their parents and said their good-byes. For most of them, they would come into this year not knowing anyone and would leave with their brothers and sisters in house colors.

Lily couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic, thinking of her own first day at school. Those thoughts weren't complete without thoughts of Scorpius. It burned with a dull ache now, the longing, and it was quite manageable now a days. Lily petted Skye through the basket, thinking of how the pain wasn't manageable at all that first summer they broke up.

_Lily had ached and burned, tears drenching her pillow as she thought about how much she wanted nothing more than to contact Scorpius, explain everything and beg him to come hold her. She barely held it together. Mostly, her brother and father gave her wide berth, thinking she had finally lost her mind. James had been hesitant to leave for his backpacking trip, but Harry had assured him that he'd let James know if there was anything to worry about._

Lily shook her head. There was no sense in drudging up such feelings. She had done well to suppress them after she saw how much her father seemed to be affected by her sense of unhappiness. She kept them buried deep below the surface, only losing control one time, the night of the Slytherin Ball last year. She was torn between wanting him to come and hoping he didn't come. She never thought that she would be so disappointed not to see him. She spent most of the night and Christmas holiday crying, holding the pieces of the shiny metallic stone that looked like a heart.

"So, Captain," Shale said as he tossed himself in the chair next to her while they waited for the prefects to gather. "When are tryouts?"

"Soon," Lily said as she pushed all the unhappy thoughts from her mind. She grinned at him, shaking her head. "Wow, you know. I just never thought that you and Nina would get so far."

"What can I say?" Shale said shrugging. He grinned. "Love is strange, huh? It has you doing the most insane things. Not that marrying Nina is insane, unless of course you count the fact that it makes me insanely happy."

"I really am so happy for you," Lily said laughing. "You two deserve happiness."

"So do you, Lily," Shale said gently as the prefects started filing in. "You're a good person and you deserve happiness. No one could deny you that much."

"I'm happy," Lily insisted quietly though for a moment she was certain that her face said otherwise.

"Sure," Shale said as he turned to greet the new Slytherin prefects.

Settling in as a seventh year student was no worse or easier than any other year, at least for Lily. She was still top of her class, taking an insane amount of classes to ready herself for a career in Healing straight out of school. She had no intention on traveling abroad or anything of that nature. She was ready to get her adult life started. She was focused.

In her sixth year, Lily had been Quidditch captain for the Slytherin team. With Aiden Hill off to the professional league, Scorpius and Damon graduated, and a few other players incapacitated, it left Lily and Shale as the only two players. She had to practically build the team from the ground up. It had been the first year she had played against Gryffindor without James on the team. She found herself more eager to wipe the pitch with the team. She hadn't been aware of her hesitation until he was gone.

As Head Girl, she was allotted her own private bathroom. It quickly became her sanctuary when things got to her, which took a lot. She had been offered the use of a private bedchamber, but like so many she turned it down. Already the seventh year girls' dormitory was sparse. She couldn't leave Nina and Callie alone without another roommate. Plus, Lily didn't want to risk the opportunity that she could wallow in self pity, which she allowed herself to do just ten minutes a day very late at night. Otherwise, she was constantly busy.

"I want to go to Honeydukes," Lily said as she walked along with Callie and Nina on the road to Hogsmead.

"Why does it seem like this year is just flying by?" Callie murmured as she kicked a pile of brilliant red and orange leaves.

"They say our last year always is either going to drag on forever or be gone in a flash," Lily commented. She laughed.

"I guess we know which one it's going to be for us," Nina said.

"Yeah, but you have something wonderful to look forward to," Callie said grinning. "A beautiful summer wedding. How's the plans coming along?"

"Our parents are handling everything," Nina said shrugging. "It's actually been really good. Our parents are thrilled for the allegiance, as they call it."

"That's good," Lily said. She held a piece of parchment in her hand.

"What's that?" Nina asked curiously. Lily grinned.

"It looks like I am going to be an aunt," Lily said smirking. "Albus and Kate."

"Oh, WOW," Callie murmured.

"It explains why they were in such a hurry," Nina grinned.

"Actually, it looks like she and he… _you know_… after they got married," Lily said. "I'm happy for them. It's what Kate ever wanted, and Albus is doing really well with the whole thing. I doubt he expected to go from dating Kate to married with a child on the way so quickly."

"When did they get married?" Nina asked.

"The beginning of September," Lily said as she glanced back at the note. "She's about six weeks along."

"So, right about graduation," Nina said grinning. "She might still be able to come to the wedding."

"Maybe so," Lily said.

"I'm going to head to Damascus' for another fitting," Nina grumbled. "I'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks, ok?"

"No problem," Lily said.

"You're not upset I chose Callie as my Maid of Honor, are you?" Nine asked. Lily smiled genuinely and shook her head.

"Not at all," Lily said. "I appreciate it."

"I just figured you already have SO much on your plate," Nina added.

"I do appreciate you thinking of me," Lily grinned. "I'm happy that you at least invited me."

"Awe, why wouldn't I?" Nina said hugging Lily. "If it wasn't for you, Shale and I would never have started dating and gotten this far."

"Sure, blame me," Lily teased. Nina laughed.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind, my parents insisted on inviting the Malfoys," Nina added casually. Lily smiled faltered slightly, barely noticeable.

"No, why would I mind? It's your special day," Lily said. She forced a bigger than normal smile. "I'll catch you guys later!"

"Get me something," Nina called as the girls separated and departed.

"No problem," Lily called as she headed towards Honeydukes and the other two girls headed towards Damascus' Dress shop. Lily pushed her way into the cramped store, ignoring the excited little third year students as best as she could. She remembered that excitement and she groaned slightly. Would she always have to think about the past?

She knew she wouldn't. Once she left Hogwarts, it would be easier to push him from her mind. She smiled at the thought and pushed forward to the counter. A squat little witch with kind eyes and gold-rimmed glasses stood there, her smile kind and several sugar quills in her hand. She placed them in the jar and looked at Lily expectantly.

"What can I get you today, dear?" The woman asked. Lily looked down at the case in front of her.

"Anything new?" Lily asked.

"We just got in these," the woman said as she reached behind the counter, drawing out a flat box. She opened it up. Inside were tiny little hearts, silvery white and flecked with green.

"What are they?" Lily asked.

"They are everlasting mint gum," the woman said grinning. "You chew up the little hearts and they stay sweet and minty for as long as you chew."

"Wow," Lily said. She looked at them, and shook her head. "I think I will stick with my usual."

"Always the same," the woman said as she reached and grabbed the small paper sack from behind the counter. She hesitated, placing the bag on the counter and grabbed a little scooper and bag, shoveling a few scoops of the little hearts into the bag. "On the house, dear."

"Really, I can't," Lily protested.

"Honey, your father did so much for us, it's the least that I can do," she said.

"Really you end up giving me twice what I pay for," Lily protested quietly. The witch grinned and shoved the bag into Lily's hands.

"This time, it's four times, love. Completely on the house. Call it the Head Girl special," the woman said. She took the flat box and stored it under the counter. "And don't try to avoid me to keep from getting it free, Miss Potter. I will just randomly send packages up to the castle."

"Thank you," Lily said quietly. She smiled.

"My pleasure," the woman said she took one of the sugar quills and handed one to Lily. "Have a good Halloween."

"You too," Lily murmured as she took the quill and slipped out of the shop unseen. She walked along the road toward the Three Broomsticks, heading inside and finding an empty booth. She shrugged out of her coat and folded it neatly on the seat next to her. She quickly ordered a butter beer and settled back in the booth, watching the other patrons. She smiled at three little third year boys trying to order fire whiskey. She stood, placing her hand on one of the boy's shoulders.

"Perhaps a butter beer would be better," she told them. They looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded, causing the bar keep to chuckle as he presented the boys with three glass bottles. One paid and they scuttled away quickly, Lily returning to her seat. She looked up as the door chimed, and for a second, she swore she saw him standing in the door way. Her heart caught in her chest. She couldn't breathe. She blinked as the man stepped towards her, a grim look on his face.

"Lily," the man said.

"Mr. Malfoy," Lily said with surprise.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked. Lily gestured to the seat across from her and he took it, removing his coat.

"How are you, Mr. Malfoy?" Lily asked politely.

"Very well," he said allowing his face to smile. "How have you been? I heard you're head girl and Quidditch Captain."

"I did, Captain last year, Head Girl this year," she said quietly. He laughed.

"And your classes?" Mr. Malfoy asked. Lily shrugged.

"I'm taking double potions, again, double Herbology," Lily said. "Advanced Transfiguration."

"No Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked in surprise. Lily shrugged.

"It didn't seem to be important," Lily said. "If I was going to be an Auror, then yes it would have been, but as a Healer, I didn't think it would help."

"So, I brought you this," Draco said as he held out an envelope. Lily bit her lip, her heart racing as she reached for it. For a moment, she hoped it was from Scorpius, and dreaded it. She groaned slightly as she thought she was thinking too much about it, hoping and dreading all in the same breath.

"What is it?" Lily asked meekly.

"An invite," Draco said. "To spend Christmas with Narcissa and myself. Your father is going to be gone on a long term assignment and won't be back in time for Christmas."

"Um," Lily said.

"I figured that instead of staying alone, you could stay with us," Draco continued. "My mother has really missed having you around and I know she'd love to dote on you a bit. Also, since the 200th Annual Slytherin Ball is being held at our home, I figured you could help her a bit. You know my mother is getting up there in age. She could use a little help."

"Ok," Lily barely breathed. She held the envelope in her hand.

"Fantastic," Draco said standing as Nina and Callie came into the pub.

"Um, this is difficult to ask, but, um," Lily said hesitantly. She was going to ask if Scorpius would be home or not. She took a shaky breath and changed her mind. "I have to take the apparation test this Christmas break. Do you think someone could pick me up for side-along and take me?"

"Not a problem," Draco said. "We can work something out."

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Lily said. He grinned.

"Please, Lily," Draco said. "Call me Draco."

"Thank you, Draco," Lily said.

"See you soon," Draco said. He passed the two girls, nodding at them as they passed. Nina and Callie looked at Lily in surprise as they sat down.

"Was that Scorpius' dad?" Nina asked. Lily nodded.

"He invited me for Christmas," Lily said. Nina eyes widened.

"Scorpius?" Nina whispered. Lily shook her head slightly.

"Nothing's changed. He's still on his world wide backpacking adventure with Damon," Lily said. She sighed. "I got a little post card from Damon a week or so. It didn't say anything, just a beautiful picture of Ireland."

"What's that?" Callie asked as she gestured to the envelope.

"My invite for the 200th ball," Lily said. "Did you know it was being held at Malfoy Manor."

"Merlin knows the place is the best place to hold any Slytherin function," Nina said. Lily nodded, having been there many times before.

Nina and Callie talked while Lily opened the stiff parchment envelope. Inside was the standard formal invitation for the ball, complete with the beautiful silver and green swirled ink and the tiny Slytherin crest. She went to put it back in the envelope when she noticed a folded piece of paper. Lily withdrew it and hid it in her pocket. She bit her lip, curiosity eating away at her.

Some hours later, she was finally able to steal away to her private bathroom. She settled on the small settee and withdrew the paper from her pocket, unfolding it. She recognized his handwriting immediately and she felt her heart stop. This was the first direct hint that he was alive and he knew she was alive, still, too. She took a shaky breath and read:

_I know that I told you that I wanted to take you to the 200__th__ Annual Slytherin Ball back in your Fifth year, but I realize now that it was not fair of me to promise you or to make you agree. I can't even be certain I want to come home for ball at all. So much has changed for me. I have new focus, a new outlook on life. Where I left as a child, I am now a man. Some of the things I have witnessed in are things that books can't even begin to express. The colors, the sights. Leaving was the best thing I could have ever done. I thought I'd thank you for breaking my heart, but I've decided it was for the best. You did me a favor. Thank you, Lils. I wish you well._

Lily frowned as she realized the words were blurry. She brushed the tears away from her face. The faster she tried to clear them from her cheeks, the faster they fell. She sighed, not even trying to stop them. It was then she realized that she was looking forward to the ball, holding on to the hope that he would still attend the ball with her. She hadn't realized how much she had held onto that over the course of their time apart. Now that hope was gone. Lily buried her face in her hands and unleashed the last bit of unshed tears. Gone was all hope in her heart and she was finally, completely broken.

In the morning, she would pull herself up off the floor of the bathroom, tears dried and gone, but for the moment she wallowed one last time in self pity.


	30. Simply Christmas with a slight edit

**QUICK EDIT:** _Poll on the front because the characters are being a bit difficult at the moment. Should Scorpius return in time for the ball? Poll on my front page. I have an idea of what is going to happen, but I kind of need to know what you all think. Nothing else has changed on this chapter, so if you've already read it, you don't need to re-read it unless you just want to go "Awe" again._

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**A/N:** The sizes of the paragraphs are a little longer in this one, especially in the beginning. I can't say whether they are in the end because I'm still working on the middle (and it's already several pages long). Still long… sorry folks… lol. Ok, I have to split up this into two chapters, but I have to say- WOW. I think this is the most beautiful chapter that I have ever written (and I have written many, many chapters). wipes away happy tears, seriously

**Disc.:** Anything you don't recall, it's mine (which would be everything but most of the characters).

* * *

**Simply Christmas**

Lily hugged Shale and Nina as she threw her bag's strap over her shoulder. She was barely able to balance Skye's basket as she did so, threatening to drop the whole ordeal. She already knew she had packed too much, but she wasn't sure that she was going to have time to do her laundry and other things once she hit Malfoy Manor. She headed to the street and caught the Knight Bus home.

The house was silent, and Lily found it slightly depressing. It was cold out, but there was no snow, not yet. I made her feel like there was no Christmas at all. Her father had decided not to decorate for Christmas since Albus was going to Kate's family's house for Christmas. She hoped to see them both on Christmas, depending on how Kate was feeling. Lily immediately set to work, dumping her dirty clothes straight into the washing machine, stripping off her jeans and tee shirt to add to the load she was washing. She giggled at the freedom of being able to stand in her panties and bra in the middle of the house. She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to.

Skye seemed thrilled to be free of her basket, taking off towards Lily's room. Lily unloaded the rest of her luggage on the kitchen table. She took her wand and flicked it at the radio, some obscure band's music blaring loudly through the house. Lily made a face and changed the CD to something a little more her. She pulled the ivory box from her bag and looked at it. She had stored Scorpius' last good bye in it, under the broken stone as a reminder that love was punishment to the heart. She pushed the box away and fiddled with her locket. She had not been able to take it off, instead she hid it under her clothes. She was thrilled to see that it was waterproof and hadn't been ruined by her swimming or showering.

She sat down and fiddled with the locket some more, thinking about Scorpius. It was nice to be able to remember him and think about him without worries of how her face betrayed her. A knock to the back door had her heart racing as she stood. She pulled a shirt on over her underwear and stepped into a pair of shorts as she flicked her wand to silence the music before answering the door. She saw his hair first and nearly wanted to snatch him up against her. Then he turned and her heart weakly groaned.

"Mr. Malfoy," Lily said in surprise.

"Draco, please, Lily. You're making me out to be so old," he teased as Lily stepped aside. He entered and looked around.

"I didn't know you'd be coming, and so soon," Lily explained sheepishly.

"You know, you could have had our house elves do your laundry he said as he walked to the table. He touched the small box.

"I didn't want to burden them," Lily explained as Draco picked up the box.

"Interesting," he murmured. "Where did you get this?"

"Scorpius gave it to me," Lily said as he cheeks flushed slightly. He looked at her quizzically as he opened the box. Lily felt a little nauseated at the thought that Draco was going to read Scorpius' last letter to her but the man picked up the pieces of rock.

"I wasn't aware you two were seeing each other. I wondered where it had gone to," Draco said. He grinned. "Did Scorpius tell you the symbolism behind this box?"

"No, we're not seeing each other at all." Lily said shaking her head. "He really didn't say anything about it at all."

"Well, while we wait for your laundry, why don't I tell you the story," Draco said as he smiled at her. Lily pushed some of her belonging off the table and Draco sat.

"Tea?"

"No thank you, that's ok," Draco said. Lily poured herself a cup and sat down across from him. She took a sip.

"So, there's a story behind the rock?" Lily asked. Draco nodded.

"And the box," he said. He looked at Lily. "I'm surprised Scorpius wouldn't have mentioned it. It's so important."

"He and I weren't exactly talking much, at the time," Lily said. Draco raised an eyebrow in surprise but said nothing more on that.

"It is said that there was a witch many, many generations ago that was so hopelessly beautiful that all the single wizards, and a few who weren't single, wanted to court her. Some said it was for more than her beauty, but also her great wealth. She was picky, though, and she wanted nothing to do with the common wizards that brought her the usual fare of chocolates, flowers, and jewels. She decided to go on a safari, accompanied by a few wizard suitors and their pages," Draco said quietly. "While she was out watching the creatures of the savannah, a bull elephant pulled away from its pachyderm parade and charged right at her. A simple page, a mediocre wizard, brought it down single handedly, it resting dead at her feet. She was so thankful that she told him that she would consider him as a suitor if he could bring her a bit to remember this event for."

"He killed it with his bare hands?" Lily asked. Draco nodded.

"That night, the page sawed off the tusk of the dead bull elephant and carved with his bare hands this box. He would later add the metal works that he also fastened with his bare hands from melted buttons. He spent two days searching for the perfect item to go into it. He came across a rock roughly shaped like a heart and he began to sand and rubbed it until it shined with the luster of pure silver. It was made of Argentums, native silver. He placed the heart in the box and brought it to her. He loved her, always had, and when he presented her with the box, it was him presenting his heart to her," Draco said. Lily hung on his every word. "The other wizards, far wealthier and more powerful than the page, laughed and called his handmade gift an insult to her, but the witch silenced them at once and was so moved by his gift that she vowed to love him forever. They were married that very night."

"Wow, such love," Lily murmured. Draco nodded.

"There's more," he said. Lily nodded.

"Please, continue," Lily said as she watched Draco's fingers fiddle with one half of the heart.

"The witch was soon with child, this man's heir, but fever consumed her and she died within a month following the son's birth," Draco said quietly. "When she died, the page felt his heart was broken and was said to have snapped the heart into two pieces. He stored them in the box and raised his son to the best of his ability. When it came time to choose a mate, the son went to his father and the man told him the story of the love he shared with his dear wife. He put the heart back together and handed his son the box. The son presented the box to the woman he loved and they were married. From father to wife, and from wife to son, the box was passed down from generation to generation. If one parent was deceased, the other parent always told the son the story and kept up the tradition."

"How did Scorpius end up with it?" Lily asked. A smile spread across Draco's face, one of sweet remembering.

"The only time it has been passed from man to the woman he loved as a true token of their love and commitment was when the two were not bound by selection," Draco said. "My mother gave me the box when I told her that I loved Infamy. I was not bound by selection, so the box wasn't given to Infamy as an afterthought as it had been for my mother. My father had scoffed at the foolish idea because the box hadn't been used for its original purpose for many, many generations. My mother only knew the story because she had read the legend in the Malfoy family book. When I declared my love for Infamy, I handed her the box, the heart intact and with the legend. There was never any hope of resistance."

"Wow," Lily said as she looked at Draco.

"It's a powerful family legend, indeed," Draco said.

"So that page… he was a Malfoy?" Lily asked.

"Hard to believe that Malfoys were of a pure yet poor lineage, huh?" Draco said. Lily blushed slightly. "His name was Jean Malfoy, and he loved his beloved Simone with all his heart. Their son's name was Nicholas. They were of French decent, though France was nothing like it is today."

"That's a beautiful story," Lily murmured. Draco nodded as he looked at her.

"That's why I'm surprised that Scorpius didn't tell you," he said. "Though the last I saw of this heart, it wasn't broken. Even after Infamy died, I couldn't bring myself to break it. I was heartbroken, yes, but Infamy and I had a long history together, our love was so strong. I never felt like she left me to the point of a shattered heart."

"Well, I think I might be to blame," Lily said wincing. Draco raised an eyebrow at her, curious.

"How so?" Draco asked. Lily took a deep breath.

"Well, I kind of was dating him for a few months back a couple of years ago. I was afraid that he was giving up too much for me, delaying his trip to spend time with me so I broke up with him," Lily said wincing as if the words caused her physical pain. She didn't even register the thickness her voice took or the tears that spilled down her face. She didn't hold back. "He had some kid give it to me, as if to remind me that I broke his heart. I really hurt him. I made him believe that my love for him was less than his love for me. I was cruel, hurtful, without needing to be. I pushed him away, sharply. I wallowed in my own misery, thinking that he'd be happier if he lived his life. I guess secretly I held onto the fact that we had a date for the ball this year, which somehow that would make it all better, but then he slipped that darn little note that in to the invite you brought me and he all but said that he moved on. I have walked around for two years staring at that box, using it as a reminder that love hurts, but really all it did was keep the hurt fresh in my mind. I held onto this hope until the hope was dashed."

"Wow," Draco said after silence spanned between them for a few minutes. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. Lily wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry," Lily said. Draco laughed.

"For what?" he asked.

"I don't normally cry like this," she said. Draco shrugged.

"It's been years since a crying woman made me feel uncomfortable," he said. "You'd be surprised the techniques that criminals will try to get out of trouble. That includes crying."

"I just usually hold myself together better," Lily said.

"We're all allowed to cry sometimes, Lily," Draco said. He smiled at her and shook his head. "You don't have to be strong all of the time."

"I'm not," Lily said as she forced a smile and stood. "Only when anyone's looking."

"Have you tried to talk to him?" Draco asked. Lily shook her head as she repacked her clean clothes. "You know, you're a witch. You can make them pack themselves now."

"I know," Lily said biting her lip. "It makes me feel better when I am actually doing something."

"Ah," he said. "I can understand that."

"And anyways," Lily sighed. "It's not like he cares anymore."

"He told you so?" Draco asked.

"He told me that he's happy," she said. "That's enough for me to not go picking at old wounds. He's happy, and I can live with that. I can be happy for him, and I will be happy for him."

"Well, honey, if you think that's best," Draco said. He froze at the term of endearment he used and Lily grinned.

"Don't worry, my dad does that too," she said. "He forgets that I am not a little child needing consoling from time to time."

"That's where you are wrong Lily," Draco said as he gathered her packed bags. Skye emerged and headed straight into his basket.

"I'm wrong?" Lily asked as she grabbed the rest of the bags, taking the ivory box and storing it in her bag before grabbing Skye's basket handle.

"Everyone needs to be consoled from time to time," Draco said as he took her arm and apparated out of the Potter's kitchen.

* * *

Lily was thankful she was given a new room on the other side of the house, as far as possible from Scorpius' room, and the room Lily had stayed in the last time she was there. If she could help it, she was going to stay away from that whole wing of the manor, not needing to add salt to the fresh wounds that throbbed deep within. As much as she would like to ignore it, the hurt and the wounds felt as if they were freshly delivered versus nearly two years old. One of her many, many regrets: not savoring their last kiss. She had no idea it would be their very last, otherwise she would have made it last longer.

She frowned at her reflection. She wondered if it was appropriate to wear jeans to you apparation exam. She hoped so, and looked out the window in the reflection of the smooth glass. It was cold, painfully cold, but still there was no snow. She frowned. It wouldn't feel like Christmas until there were a few inches at the very least. It was always when it was this cold, or that wet, or that hot that Lily wondered how Scorpius was faring in the elements. James was fairly rugged having gone adventure camping throughout his youth, but Scorpius seemed more fragile.

"Silly," she murmured. She knew that he was beyond a child and would have the sense to take cover in a hostel if the weather was too uncomfortable or extreme.

"Lily, are you ready?" Narcissa asked as she knocked on the open door. Lily looked at her and nodded.

"This should be fun," Lily said grinning.

"You'll do fine," Narcissa said as the two women headed down to the front hall to apparate to the office.

Lily had done well, great even and walked out of there with the ability to apparate on her own. Narcissa had allowed Lily to head home for a quick lunch, leading the way before Lily planned to go out and start looking for her dress for the ball. The two women ate their lunch and Lily made her first unaccompanied trip alone to Diagon Ally. She had taken the floo network there plenty of times, but she had never apparated there. She grinned as she headed towards the dress shop that Narcissa had told her to go to.

"Do you have an appointment?" the witch asked as Lily greeted her.

"Narcissa Malfoy sent me," Lily said coolly. The woman's cold glare warmed immediately and Lily could practically see dollar signs in the woman's eyes.

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy insisted that whatever you want, to give it to you, and to put it on her personal account," the woman said. Lily hesitated but didn't resist. She knew that there was no point in fighting it.

"Ok, so what do you recommend?" Lily asked as the clerk swept out from behind the counter and headed towards what would probably be the most expensive dress in the store. The woman pulled a dress out, the long dress shimmering silver with tiny shoulder straps. It had a slit on the side that went way up the side, and would land middle of her thigh. Lily immediately fell in love with it.

"This is just in from Paris," the clerk said. "Let's get it on you and see how it looks."

"Ok," Lily said as she took the dress to the changing room. She looked at her reflection all around her. Thirty different Lilys looked at her in thirty different positions. "What a room."

"It helps our clients get an idea of how they'd look from every single angle," the clerk said. "What look good from the front and back may not be flattering from the side."

"Good point," Lily said as she began to take off her clothes. The clerk shook her head and pulled a set of underwear for her.

"These are more proper for your frame," she said. Lily nodded and dressed in the dress and underwear. Even without her hair and makeup done, she knew that this was the dress for her. It fit perfectly, hugged her in all the right places.

"Wow," Lily said as she looked at her reflection from all the angles.

"It does look wonderful," the clerk said in surprise. Lily grinned.

"This is the one I want," Lily said. The clerk nodded and Lily undressed.

"You can keep the underwear on," the clerk said. "The other stuff has been burned. I'll send you more. These are made for your figure. The fit you better."

"Um, ok," Lily said. She pulled her jeans on over the panties and jerked her shirt and sweater on, and went to put her shoes on.

"Wait, try these on," the clerk said as she brought a box to Lily. Lily looked at the very fragile looking silver strappy shoes. They fit perfectly and the clerk took them and placed them back in their box. "I'll have them delivered up to the Manor."

"Thank you," Lily said hesitantly as she glimpsed the price tag for the first time and she cringed.

"Don't worry, Miss Potter," the clerk said. "This is pocket change for the Malfoys."

"Um, thanks," Lily said as she left the store. She head down the street, chilled but not quite frozen. She walked along until she stopped at a store, wondering if she should get anything for Draco and Narcissa. She knew that they already had the ability to own everything under the son. She touched the locket through her shirt and sweater. She thought about what she wanted to get them and then it hit her quite nearly literally. She made a wrong turn off of Diagon Ally and ended up a muggle supply store. There was a little witch with her mother, the child whining that she wanted to play the toy piano.

Lily headed in to the store and she talked with the store clerk. She purchased a few thing and apparated home. She was greeted by one of the house elves with a note. Lily read it quickly, Draco was working late at the ministry and Narcissa had gone to a planning dinner with one of the vendors. Lily was home alone for dinner that night, and somehow she felt even more alone. She sighed but figured that it was a good time for her to explore the manor more, while working on her gift for the Malfoys. She knew that she had seen a music room somewhere in the big, old manor.

Lily avoided the wing where Scorpius' room was. She and he had goofed off in all of those rooms, and she stayed out of the rooms with the brass name plates. Those were special rooms, she was sure. Rooms devoted to various activities, they held no interest for her. She headed through arch way after arch way until she came to a little wooden door at the end of a hall way. It was unlocked and was not descriptive of the room it held behind it. She pulled the door open, ducking down to fit through the low door way. She found a set of spiraling stairs and slowly crept up them, her wand casting shadows in the corners. At the top of the stairs, she found another similar door. This one she pushed open and hesitated in the door way.

The room was huge, larger than it ever should have been, with tall stained glass windows. Everywhere there were toys and books. Every single toy a child could have ever wanted, back when the toys were popular covered every shelf surface and corner. Lily walked carefully across the floor, leaving her foot prints in the thick dust. She smiled at the miniature table and chairs. Everything in this room was child sized and Lily couldn't help but wonder whose playroom this had been. She glanced at the chalk board and nearly laughed. Written on the board was- Scorpius was here, the letter "S" was reversed to look like it was heading in the opposite direction, "here" was missing it's last "e", and was had been spelled with a "z" instead of a "s".

She smiled as her fingers touched the chalk board. She wondered how old he had been when he last played here and guessed about five or six years old. It must have been about the time that he started his formal schooling down in the library under Lucius Malfoy and he started to lose his child-like innocence. The thought made Lily a bit sad, because she could picture the goofy grin of a six year old Scorpius, missing his front two teeth, playing on the tricycle and drawing funny doodles on the chalk board. For the first time in her entire life, she wondered if she decided to have kids, would they be forced to grow up so quickly.

Lily descended the stairs slowly, closing the doors behind her, and continued her search of the music room. She finally found it and was grateful that the coating of dust in there wasn't nearly as thick as the playroom. She pulled the sheet off the large piano and sneezed. She laughed in the silence and folded the sheet up before removing the one from the bench. She sat down at the instrument with her music sheets, quill, and ink in hand. She hoped the poor thing was in tune because she'd really prefer not to have to tune it.

She tested the keys, each one sounding out with brilliance and clarity. She smiled at the way the piano resonated in the room perfectly. She closed her eyes as she begun to play, memories and emotion flooding over her. She thought of the beautiful witch and the love expressed by the wizard page, and their child. The music poured from her finger tips, a perfect melody of love, loss, and healing. The music lived first in her heart, then her head, and finally in her ears. It came together with such divine power that it was, in Lily's opinion, the most beautiful composition she had ever created. Quickly, she took her blank sheet music, the quill, and the ink and furiously made her notes, wanting to preserve the song.

* * *

Lily yawned and stretched, her eyes hesitating to open and look at the bright light that streamed in through her window. She groaned and rolled her eyes, rolling onto her side and looked at the bright blue sky. She sighed, ignoring the door opening behind her. She knew what day it was, but still, it felt like just any old day. There wasn't a hint of snow, not a touch of the fluffy white stuff in the sky. Not any of the decorations could touch the darkness she felt. It just didn't feel like Christmas Day. Her family was scattered all over the world, doing heaven knew what and there wasn't even a speck of snow to brighten her mood.

"Stupid global warming," Lily grumbled.

"Ah, you are awake!" Narcissa said. Lily sat up to see the woman carrying a cup of hot tea while a house elf followed with a tray full of delectable breakfast treats.

"Good morning," Lily said smiling as she climbed out of bed.

"I wanted to bring you breakfast since the whole downstairs has been pretty much taken apart at this point and the dining room table is gone," Narcissa said. Lily grinned and she joined Narcissa at the small table by the window. "Pretty blue sky."

"I'd rather have snow," Lily laughed.

"I bet," Narcissa said. "Pip Pippin says that there's a good chance for snow this afternoon and evening, but you really can never trust those meteorologist."

"No," Lily laughed.

"I hope you don't mind, but I had a little spruce set up and decorated," Narcissa said nodding to the small Christmas tree tucked in the corner of the room. Lily hadn't even noticed the tree, cheerfully decorated and surrounded with presents. Lily's eyes couldn't help but brighten up at the sight. She was itching to open them. She may have been seventeen years old, but Christmas always brought the kid out of everyone.

"Thank you, Narcissa," Lily said brightening a bit.

"I have to say it's good to find someone enthusiastic about my thoughtfulness," Narcissa said grinning. Lily wondered what she meant by that but said nothing further.

"I got you something," Lily said suddenly. "Well, sort of. I made you and Draco a joint gift. I didn't really know what you could possibly want or need, and I figured this gift would be more meaningful."

"Whatever it is, I am sure we will both love it," Narcissa said as Lily jumped up and skipped to her bedside table. She pulled open the drawer and pulled out a carefully wrapped flat package. She carried it back over to Narcissa and handed it to the woman.

"It's a joint gift, but guys don't usually appreciate these kinds of gifts," Lily said quietly. She felt nervous as Narcissa tore the paper and pulled out a leather bound book, it was large but flat, only containing about twenty or thirty sheet.

"A book of sheet music?" Narcissa asked as she touched the gold embossed cover: _L'amour, De perte, et Déplorant_.

"Draco told me the story of Jean and Simone Malfoy, and I wrote the music to it, how I heard it and how I felt it while he told me the story," Lily said uncertainly. "The title reads: Love, Loss, and Lamenting in French, since they were native French people."

"Lily," Narcissa said as she opened the book. Lily bit her lip, suddenly feeling very foolish for having given someone as wealthy as Narcissa a silly little handmade gift.

"I'm sorry it's not…" Lily started. Narcissa put her hand up, silencing Lily. Lily looked at her in surprise as Narcissa wiped a tear from her eye and wrapped her arms around Lily.

"It's the most perfect gift that I could ever have hoped for," Narcissa said. "No one has ever put so much thought into a gift for me before. More love and thought went into this gift then all of the gifts that have ever been purchased for me."

"I'm glad you like it," Lily said as Narcissa continued to hug her. The woman released her.

"You have no idea how wonderful this is, Lily," Narcissa said. "It is the most perfect gift. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Lily said as she blushed. Narcissa beamed.

"You must play it for me, before you leave for school," Narcissa said. Lily grinned.

"It's a deal," Lily said as Narcissa smiled.

"Eat up, open your presents, and I'll see you later," Narcissa said. She hugged Lily one more time before heading out of the room, clutching the book in arms as if it really was a prized possession. Lily felt like a million dollars having given a gift that really meant something.

Lily quickly finished her breakfast, leaving the tray on the table for the house elf to retrieve. She walked over to the tree, thinking it looked spectacular. Still wearing her flannel pants and a tee shirt, she dipped down to a sitting position on the floor, sitting on a thick braided rug. She looked for a moment at the perfect little glass balls and twinkling lights, and though she was alone at the moment, she still felt loved. She picked up a horribly wrapped present and looked at the tag. She groaned.

"Gee, Aiden, you shouldn't have," she mumbled to herself as she removed the paper to see yet another team jersey. She had to admit, he was a pretty persistent bugger, but she wasn't interested in anything more than a friendship. She had tried that route before and it just didn't work well for them. She worked through the pile, various gifts from her dad and brothers, including some cool little Incan medicine man totems James had sent. He had carefully wrapped up the two inch tall totems and sent them along to her with his love. They were great, cast of brass and each doing something different. Kate and Albus had sent her a small leather bound book with metal fittings, a journal, and her name was embossed on the front. Lily wasn't one to keep a journal, but she was impressed by the thought that Kate had put into it.

Her cousins had sent her sweets, which she would eat all by herself probably, but she loved it, her aunt and uncle sent her a book called _Magical Maladies of the Third Century_. Shale had gone in with Nina on a gift, a brand new afghan throw that Lily was sure to love, and she did. It was so soft, Lily immediately wrapped it around her. Her grandmother had sent her a brand new scarf and hat, which was good because her old ones were getting a bit tattered. It was delicate looking, carefully knitted out of ivory colored wool. Lily immediately looked to the box and felt the familiar squeeze of her heart. She looked back to the tree to see just three gifts left.

The first one was from Narcissa. Lily opened the box to see two silver hair combs with ornate silver with blue and green butterflies. Lily looked carefully to see that the color of the butterfly wings were blue and green stones and Lily knew that the set was probably very expensive. Lily would wear them tonight with her shimmery silver dress with the dangerously strappy heels. She grinned and carefully stored them back in the box. The second one was from Draco. Lily felt even more uncomfortable at his extravagant gift. She picked up the card first, reading it with shaky hands: _To the daughter I never had_. A lump formed in Lily's throat as she opened the box. Delicate earrings with tiny dangling butterflies in blue and green stones hung down from a central post.

They matched perfectly with the hair combs Narcissa gave her and Lily knew that the two probably cost a small fortune. Lily distractedly fiddled with her locket while she reached apprehensively for the last package. It wasn't too heavy, though it did have a little weight on it. Lily looked for a card, but was unable to find out who it was from. She carefully peeled the tape off, exposing a card board box. She opened the box and pulled out the contents. She stared at the object for a long time before her eyes flickered to the ivory box on the vanity.

In her hand she held a box much the same dimension of the ivory box. It was a deep charcoal gray with intricate designs carved all over the sides and top. It's hinges and fasteners were silver, polished until they were mirror shiny. Lily slowly opened the box. Inside, there was just a square of folded parchment. She carefully set the box down on the floor and removed the parchment. She bit her lip, holding her breath, and read:

_To commemorate our first kiss, though I know technically the astronomy tower railing is made of granite and not soapstone, but this was easier for me to carve for you out on my adventure. One day, I will explain to you the meaning behind the boxes, though knowing how smart you are, I bet you already know._

There was no signature, but Lily knew exactly who it was from. She reread the simple letter over and over, her heart swelling until she was certain it would displace her ribs and reside there on the outside. His words gave her hope, so much hope.

_I will explain to you the meaning._

She would get to see him, one day… some day. She felt like she couldn't smile any larger, her face was sure to shatter like her ribs from all of the happiness she felt. Even if it was months from now, she could survive that because she would get to see him. She had hope, and that was all she needed to make her day. She scooped the presents up, dumping most on her bed, placing the Malfoy family gifts on her vanity. She set Scorpius' box next to the ivory, the contrast between the light and the dark. She smiled as she reached inside the box, pulling out the two pieces of metallic stone. She carried them to the window, to breathe in the icy air and to clear her head some.

Lily pushed the window open, sitting there in the window. She held the pieces in her left hand, steadying herself on the window sill as she looked up at the now gray sky. She squeezed the two pieces in her hand, her flesh warming them as she watched a single, solitary snow flake drift down from the graying sky. It floated slowly until it landed on Lily's nose, causing her to giggle. She hadn't giggled in a long time. She watched with increasing delight as the snow started to come down faster, sticking to everything like glue. She laughed and pulled herself back in the window.

Lily headed to her vanity, opening the ivory box. She went to put the pieces back in the ivory box. She stood there in her pajamas, staring at the stone in her hand with delight and confused excitement. She glanced up at her reflection, seeing how the happiness and joy went all the way to her eyes, a smile still playing on her lips. She looked back down at her hand and reached across the vanity, closing the ivory box. Her hand hesitated on the soapstone box before she opened it. She placed the stone in the box, peering at it one last time before closing the box.

Where once the stone was two pieces, a broken heart, it had seamlessly fused into one perfect, shiny heart. In that instant, Lily knew that she was completely healed.


	31. Cloak of Invisibility

**A/N:** I didn't mean to offend anyone with the author's note on chapter 29. I just wanted to make sure that everyone understood why it sometimes takes me a longer stretch to release the chapters (and that doesn't include the fact that the chapters have never been less than 3k words). Anyways, hope everyone is well. It's half of noon on Thursday and I've not eaten breakfast (or lunch yet). I'm starting the chapter instead. _13 hours later:_ Oh, and the ending of this chapter… oops. That was _not_ supposed to end up that way (you'll see what I am talking about). I blame the characters getting minds of their own and not listening to the damn plot line. Oh well… no harm done that I can't fix later, maybe?

**Very Important:** _Don't forget to check out the newest poll on the front page after you review. Make your vote count!_

**Disc:** We know by now I didn't create the characters.

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**Cloak of Invisibility**

Lily slipped the combs in her hair, the earring already in place in her ears. She stood in front of the full length mirror and couldn't suppress her grin. She was not the type of girl that stood in front of the mirror for hours admiring herself but she help but think that she was breathtaking. She blushed, her cheeks turning pink at the conceited thoughts. The accessories that the Malfoys had given her had been perfect, as if they had been created and chosen with Lily and this dress in mind. She grinned, knowing that they probably had been.

"You're breath-taking, Lily," Narcissa said genuinely. "Your date is a very lucky man."

"I don't have a date," Lily said shrugging in a very un-ladylike way. Narcissa smiled.

"The good thing about being a powerful and beautiful woman," Narcissa said as she led Lily out of the room and down the hall. "You don't have to have a date to captivate an audience of eligible and willing suitors."

"Oh, I'm not looking for suitors," Lily corrected Narcissa.

"I know, career first," Narcissa said. "But, you never know what tomorrow may hold."

"Too true," Lily said as she and Narcissa joined Draco to greet the guests as they arrived. Draco grinned at her, and Lily grinned back. She may have been born into a family of strictly Gryffindor students, but she was downright a Slytherin. For the first time she truly felt as if she was accepted and belonged. Even some of the older, more prejudice Slytherins embraced her as a daughter of the Slytherin coat of arms.

"Miss Potter, you must contact me the minute you graduate," one witch said as she pulled out her card and handed it to Lily. "As one of the higher benefactors of St. Mungo's, I can assure you prime placement into their Healer's program."

"Thank you very much, Madame Fuchsine," Lily said tucking the card into her little clutch. She had wondered if it was silly to carry one since she was living right up stairs. She was glad to have it, though Lily couldn't be certain she'd actually use the woman as a contact.

"You're welcome," the woman said as she left to find another person. Draco touched Lily's shoulder, causing her to jump.

"Sorry," Lily said grinning.

"I didn't mean to startle you," Draco said quietly. "I know you probably think you'll not want to call on Myrtle Fuchsine, but she could really help insure your career is successful."

"I've got some time to decide," Lily said.

"Just the rest of the school year and summer," Draco reminded her. Lily grinned.

"I've thought more on it," Lily said. "I think I'm going to tell my dad that I plan to follow the others and do a little worldwide sightseeing before I buckle down and start my life."

"I think he'll be thrilled to hear that," Draco said smiling at her. He hesitated before he hugging her. "You look really pretty tonight."

"Thank you for the earrings," Lily said blushing. "They're perfect."

"Ah, well," Draco said grinning, his face flushed slightly. He lowered his voice. "To be honest, my mother picked them out. I was never good with any of that stuff."

"No problem," Lily laughed. He grinned bigger.

"Thank you so much for the composition. My mother says you've promised to play it for us," Draco said. Lily nodded.

"Yes, I promised," Lily said.

"Lily!" Kate's voice rung out over the crowds.

"Looks like your sister-in-law has found you," Draco said as he patted her shoulder and left Lily's side as Kate swung her arms around Lily tightly.

"LILY!" Kate said and she squeezed Lily tightly. "Oh, I haven't seen you in ages. How are you? I heard that you made Head Girl. Albus and I are so proud, aren't we Albus?"

"We sure are, Lily," Albus said quietly as he looked around, a little more than uncomfortable at the scene his new bride was making. Lily grinned. Lily pulled away from Kate and hugged her older brother. "So, how's Malfoy treating you?"

"Draco's been really nice," Lily said smiling. She turned her ear to show Albus her ear. "He gave me these earrings for Christmas."

"Oh, I didn't mean Mr. Malfoy," Albus said quietly. Kate shot him a look and he quickly looked at his watch. "We'll catch you later."

"Oh, ok," Lily said slightly confused as she waved her brother off. Lily caught up with Nina and Shale, hanging out with them a bit until they wandered off to dance. It was, after all, the 200th ball. It was far more elaborate than the normal Christmas balls of past years, and Lily couldn't blame them for wanting to dance.

"Lily Potter, you look so beautiful," a voice said quietly and Lily spun around. Her face broke into a huge smile as Aiden Hill stood there, a smile on his face.

"Aiden, wow," Lily said as she hugged him. "I didn't think you'd be able to come."

"Hey, even Quidditch pros get to spend Christmas with their loved ones," Aiden said grinning and Lily blushed. "I cannot get over how absolutely breathtaking you are."

"Thank you," Lily blushed even harder. He laughed.

"Did you like my gift?" he asked. Lily smiled and nodded.

"You know I love supporting you," Lily said. Aiden beamed. "You are, after all, one of the greatest guy friends that I have."

"Oh, you too," he said though his smile slipped a little. He had to work a little harder to keep the smile on his face. He nodded towards the dance floor. "Would you care to dance?"

"I'd love to," Lily said as she took his offered arm. "You look so nice in that suit."

"Thank you," he said as he placed his hand lightly on her waist. Lily looked up at him, smiling as they joined the other Slytherins past, present, and future as they danced out under the seductive music of some obscure band Lily never followed. The music slowed down and Aiden drew her in a little closer until Lily was just a few inches from him.

"This is nice," Lily said quietly.

"I agree," Aiden said as the second song ended. He prepared for a third but Lily pulled away gently.

"I hate to ditch you, but I am so thirsty," Lily said. Aiden nodded and lead her to get a drink.

"Fire whiskey?" he teased. Lily's face went bright red and she laughed.

"I don't think so," Lily said laughing as she got herself something a little less dangerous to drink. She took a sip and smiled. She went to say something to Aiden but a hand rested on her shoulder. Lily looked behind her to see Damon standing there, grinning at her. She sat her drink down and threw her arms around Damon.

"Lily Potter, hot damn girl," he said grinning as he squeezed her. "I've not seen you in a year and a half and you went and turned into a right little hottie."

"I thought you and Scorpius were still back packing until the end of next summer," Lily said excited as she pulled away. Aiden slunk away as Damon slid his arm around her waist.

"Oh, Merlin no," Damon said shaking his head laughing. "Are you kidding? I missed the creature comforts of home. I left the group at the beginning of December. Do you know how good it feels to get to take a hot shower and sleep in your own bed after so many months away? It's heaven, Lily."

"Welcome back," Lily said grinning slightly. She had a nagging question but she was afraid to ask it. She didn't know if she could handle either of the answers.

"So, word got to me that you made Head Girl," he said. "I'm thrilled for you. So, you're like supreme ruler of the entire school now. Slytherin Quidditch captain and Head Girl, with all those extra classes, how in the world do you find time to relax or date?"

"I'll relax after N.E.W.T.s," Lily teased. He laughed.

"And dating?" Damon prodded gently as he lead her out towards the patio. This year, Narcissa had installed heaters. The snow was wet, melted, but the artificial warmth was inviting and only when the wind whipped toward them did Lily feel even the slightest hint of winter chill.

"No dating," Lily said simply as she smiled as she leaned her forearms against the rail, looking over the sparkly ground.

"Really? I'd have thought that the guys would have been lining up to date you," Damon said. Lily shrugged slightly.

"I think my power and position is a put off," Lily said as she looked at him. Damon nodded understanding. He momentarily looked to the door, causing Lily to glance there too, but no one was standing there. She returned her eyes to his.

"Did you get my post cards?" he asked distractedly. Lily's face brightened and she nodded eagerly.

"Oh, they were beautiful. Did you really go to all those places?" Lily asked as she looked at him interestedly.

"Yeah, look I know you told… well… that you said that you were going straight into the Healer's program, but you've got to do some traveling while you are young, Lily," Damon said breathlessly as his excitement spilled over. Lily could practically feel it in the air. His eyes went to that same place and this time Lily wondered if he was looking for someone, waiting for something.

"What are you looking for?" Lily asked quietly.

"Nothing," Damon said quickly. "As I was saying, if you only go one place, you have to at least go to the Dublin. There is so much history there."

"I've actually decided that I am going to put off school for a year and go traveling a bit," Lily said smiling. "The more I thought about you… guys… you know, going around and seeing all those pretty places you visited, it really got me thinking. I don't want to have regrets."

"Regrets are bad," Damon said nodding slightly. He was suddenly very serious. Lily could feel the difference in the air.

"Yes, they are," Lily said. She sighed. "You know though, some sacrifices are worth the regret later on. It makes it more bearable."

"I couldn't agree more, Lily," Damon said grinning. He offered her his arm. "I'd love the opportunity to dance with you, that way I can say I danced with the prettiest girl at the ball."

"My pleasure," Lily said smiling and blushing slightly at him as she took his arm. Damon rested his hand on hers and shook his head.

"No, you must know, the pleasure really is all mine," he said quietly as he led her back to the dance floor where they joined the other bodies of dancing people. Like Aiden, he held Lily a little closer than was probably needed but Lily didn't mind. For the night, she was allowed to pretend that she was the princess of the ball.

"May I cut in?" a voice said quietly and Lily felt her heart stutter. She pulled her face away from where she had been previously resting it on Damon's shoulder and looked up. Her breathing suddenly intensified, the rise and fall with every breath coming quicker and quicker. Her body tensed, seized as she looked into his eyes.

"Scorpius," Lily barely choked out in a breathy sort of way. He grinned, his hair mussed though he was dressed to the nines. He looked older, though how much could a year really age someone. He looked more robust, healthier. It was a good look for him.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked as his smile slowly slid from his face. Damon had already retreated, leaving Scorpius and Lily to talk among themselves. Lily took a minute more to try and compose her breathing and expression.

"I'm fine," Lily finally said as she took a quiet breath. "I'm just surprised to see you."

"We had a date," Scorpius reminded her with a grin. Lily felt her heart stutter again, and she was sure she was dreaming. She laughed.

"That we did," Lily said as she looked at him expectantly.

"You don't look happy to see me," he said quietly as his smile began to fade.

"It's not that I'm not happy to see you," Lily said as she looked into his eyes. "I'm just surprised. I mean, you slipped that note in with the invite your dad brought me when he invited me to stay all of Christmas Holiday."

"Yeah," Scorpius said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't sure I was going to come home then. I was still kind of… _pissed_… that you broke up with me."

"Yeah," Lily said slowly.

"But I got to thinking," Scorpius continued. Lily noticed that they had retreated out to the same patio area that she and Damon had talked on just a bit before. Lily glanced around and heat rose to her cheeks a bit. This was also the same place that she and Scorpius had first kissed, at the Slytherin Christmas Ball, way back when she was just a lowly first year. She grinned slightly at the memory.

"You got to thinking?" Lily asked as she focused on Scorpius, who was now staring at her.

"You look beautiful tonight," Scorpius said. Lily looked at him confused.

"What does that have to do with you thinking?" Lily asked. Scorpius shook his head.

"Nothing," Scorpius said. "I just… I feel like I am seeing you for the first time."

"It _is_ the first time you've seen me in a year and a half," Lily reminded him.

"Not exactly…" Scorpius said blushing slightly. Lily looked at him confused.

"What do you mean '_not exactly_', Scorpius?" Lily asked. He hesitated and Lily placed her hands on her hips. "What do you mean?"

"Well, ok, don't be mad, Lils," Scorpius said quietly. Lily raised an eyebrow, knowing that nothing good could be commenced with a statement like that.

"I'll do my best," Lily said as she looked at him. He had hesitated, waiting for her response.

"Ok," Scorpius said taking a deep breath. "I came home with Damon. We both were feeling homesick."

"Why would I be mad?" Lily asked unclear.

"I came here," Scorpius said. "That's why my dad picked you up so late."

"No… no, you couldn't have," Lily said shaking her head. "I would have noticed you."

"Would you have?" Scorpius challenged gently. "I could have taken polyjuice and morphed into a house elf."

"Don't be stupid," Lily scoffed. "Polyjuice is only used in human to human transformations. House elves aren't human enough."

"Ok, you got me there," Scorpius said. "I didn't take polyjuice, but I really was here the whole time."

"I would have seen you," Lily said crossing her arms. She could feel herself getting a little upset. "I'm not so self absorbed that I wouldn't have noticed _you_."

"Oh, I didn't mean to imply that," Scorpius said quickly, realizing what Lily thought he was accusing her of. He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm making a mess of things. Maybe I should start a little closer to the beginning."

"Yeah, maybe you should," Lily said as she fought the cross tone that was edging into her voice.

"Are you warm? We could go inside," Scorpius said suddenly. Lily nearly laughed. He had been concerned about her being cold that first time they found their selves out here at her first ball. How they had come so many years and they had the same situations re-cropping up.

"I'm fine, Scorpius," Lily said gesturing to the heaters. He grinned.

"Look, I was upset and I stayed that way for a long time. Yes, I enjoyed life out there, and you were right, I had to do it," Scorpius said. "Still, I couldn't stop thinking about you, I couldn't get over you. I hung on to every little shred of information that made it back to me. I'm sure listening to me piss and moan about you to Damon was annoying for him, and I felt guilty about it in the beginning until he told me that he talked to you. You have to understand, Lils, he didn't know that you were the one reason I wanted to delay. He promised that had he known, he'd have given me the summer. It wouldn't have made that much difference. I'd have still gone, but then I thought that you didn't care about me anymore."

"Ok," Lily said confused. "What does this have to do with you coming home in December and claiming to be in the house all this time?"

"Ugh, yeah, so I wrote that letter to you, pretty much dismissing you from my life and slipped it into the invite when I visited my father that morning before he went to deliver it to you. I had no intention on coming here tonight and seeing you," Scorpius said as he leaned up against the railing. "I was still angry and hurt that you were willing to cast me aside and give Hill another chance, just because he was going Pro."

"You know, I only said that right?" Lily commented. Scorpius nodded.

"I do now, but then, I swore that was the truth. Anyways, I returned back from my father's and Damon was looking all guilty about things because by now, he'd listened to me whine about you for about a year, and it ate away at his insides. He told me about the conversation you two had," Scorpius said. He continued to stare at Lily's shoes. "Damn, do those things hurt your feet?"

"A little," Lily said. She gave him a dirty look. He laughed and opened his arms to her. "Maybe you should finish your story, Scorpius." He nodded, dropping his arms. His smile faltered and he decided to continue.

"I went to Albus," Scorpius said.

"You went and saw my brother?" Lily asked incredulously. She couldn't believe he hadn't said anything to her. She would kill him if it wasn't for the fact that he was going to be a father. She thought back to the conversation she had not but a few hours ago with Albus. What had he asked? _How Malfoy was treating her? _Albus hadn't been talking about Draco like she had thought, he had been talking about Scorpius. Albus knew Scorpius was back. So had Kate, which explained the look Kate had sent Albus, ending their conversation rather abruptly. Lily frowned.

"I asked him if I could borrow his cloak," Scorpius said.

"You have dozens of cloaks," Lily countered. Scorpius laughed.

"Yeah, but your brother has a very _special_ cloak that I don't," Scorpius said. Realization and understand flickered in her eyes.

"The Cloak of Invisibility," Lily murmured. Scorpius nodded.

"Yeah," he said. He looked suddenly really uncomfortable. "I kind of used it, spent the past few weeks following you around." Lily looked at him, horrified.

"You were following me?" Lily asked angrily.

"I never looked at you, not like when you weren't decent," Scorpius promised as he raised his hands in surrender. "I would never cross that line. I was there when you got your dress, but I kept my eyes close the entire time. I wanted the first time I saw you in it to be here. I prayed for the snow."

"How could you follow me and I not notice it?" Lily demanded. "How could you do that to me? Why? When did you follow me? Always?"

"Lily, I was upset and yet, I was drawn to you. Like a moth to a flame, I've never been able to resist you. I've had to talk myself out of so many things, first I convinced myself that you were too young for me, then that we were teammates, and then I convinced myself that you didn't love me," Scorpius said. "I was always careful to be very quiet and very still. I needed to be near you, and even if you didn't want me, I'd still be there, ready to protect you at a moment's notice."

"When? When did you follow me?" Lily demanded. She was shaking with emotion.

"I was there when you bought the sheet music, though I wasn't sure what it was for," Scorpius admitted quietly. "I was there behind you while you searched my home, looking for the music room. I saw you smile when you were in my playroom, imagining me no doubt at that tender age."

"Stop," Lily said as she covered her ears. "I don't want to hear any more."

"Lils," Scorpius said as he cleared the distance between them. He nudged her chin up to make her look at him. "I didn't do it to harm you, but only to torture myself. I can only imagine how much it must have hurt to read that note I sent you. Not to mention that cruel little statement that I included in the first box I gave you."

"Prove it," Lily said suddenly as she wrenched away from him.

"Prove what? That I wanted to torture myself?" Scorpius asked carefully. Lily shook her head.

"Prove that you were there with me in the music room or the playroom," Lily said. Scorpius nodded and took Lily by the hand, heading across the patios and bypassing most of the party guests. They entered the far side of the room and took the stairs silently. Lily was mad, but she couldn't help the way her heart purred at his hand gripping hers and for a moment, she pretended that they were holding hands.

Scorpius led her first to the playroom, pushing the wooden door quickly and leading her up the spiral staircase. He pushed open the door and froze, swearing under his breath. Someone had come in and cleared the room of the thick layer of dust. Lily looked at him in surprise, but he shrugged.

"There goes my showing you my foot prints in the dust," Scorpius said pouting slightly. "I was surprised you didn't notice them while we were up here. You touched the chalk board where I had written on it."

"Lucky guess," Lily said. Scorpius took her again by her hand and headed to the music room. He flicked his wand, lighting the room's million of candles, the lights glowing warm and flickering.

"Ok, you sat here at the piano, first playing some insanely complicated piece then you began to write furiously, as if you were possessed by the music," Scorpius said. Lily crossed her arms.

"Anyone would have guessed that," Lily said. Scorpius sighed.

"Ok, how's this for details," Scorpius said. "At one point, you placed your head back on the bench, staring up at the ceiling while tears spilled down your cheeks. At first I was worried you were sad, but you had a smile across your face. The tears concerned me, but I had only ever seen that smile on your face when we were together, when we were in love."

Lily was silent, her mouth slightly open as she looked at him bewildered. He was telling the truth.

"The music," Lily said quietly after a moment. Scorpius nodded.

"Yeah, that music was beautiful and eerie," Scorpius said. "I was moved to tears myself, though I don't exactly know why."

"You cried?" Lily asked. Scorpius blushed.

"Not like a sobbing baby, but yea, I had tears running down my face every time you played it," Scorpius said. He took a shaky breath. "And you played it a lot while you worked out the kinks in it."

"Yeah, I did," Lily murmured as her fingers silently touched the highest key. She didn't depress it, just hovered with her finger on the key.

"What was the song about? The one you wrote," Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him and smiled slightly.

"Your father told me about Jean and Simone Malfoy," Lily said. She looked at him, not realizing that he was standing so close. "I didn't know what to get your grandmother and father for Christmas, so I composed a musical piece that expressed everything I felt when your dad told me the story. What you heard was Simone and Jean's story: _L'amour, De perte, et Déplorant_."

"Love, Loss, and Lamenting?" Scorpius asked breathlessly. Lily nodded. His fingers reached out for her and she felt the light brushing of his finger tips as he drew the locket away from her skin. "You're still wearing this?"

"Yes," Lily said in the same breathless sort of way. His eyes met hers with questions, silent questions that seemed to be causing turmoil inside of him. "You seem to think that there was a time that I ever stopped loving you, Score. In all honesty, I've been selfish because I hoped I still staked a claim on your heart."

"You still love me?" Scorpius asked with surprise.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"Good," Scorpius said as a smile curled his lips. "I still love you too."

He leaned forward and lightly kissed her, their eyes closed as they breathed in each other slightly, sampling each other's life force ever so carefully. They pulled back slowly, eyes still closed. Neither wanted to open their eyes, for they both feared that if they opened their eyes they would learn that this had all been a dream and neither could bear the thought. Scorpius laced his fingers in hers, pulling her close, his eyes still closed. He lowered his mouth to her ear.

"I don't want to ever be away from you like that again, Lily," Scorpius breathed as he pressed his face against her face. "I love you more than words could ever express. I'm sorry I believed that you didn't love me, I should have known better. I should have fought for you. I plan to fix this, all of this, if it takes the rest of our lives to do so."

"The rest of our lives?" Lily breathed.

"Yeah," Scorpius said. "You will always be a part of my life Lily. Now and forever."

"I will," Lily said. Scorpius pressed a kiss to her neck slightly.

"I don't have anything, Lily," Scorpius said. "There are no excuses that I can come up with. I love you. You're not too young. I think that you were never too young."

"I love you, Score," Lily said as her mouth met his again.

"I love you, Lils," Scorpius vowed.

"Your room or mine?" Lily asked. Scorpius opened his eyes in surprise.

"I… I didn't mean that," Scorpius said. Lily bit her lips slightly.

"I know, but I do," Lily said quietly. "I'm ready. I'm not afraid."

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked. Lily nodded once.

"It's what people do when they're in love," Lily said as Scorpius' mouth crashed down on hers for a moment before he led her out of the music room and down the hall towards his room.


	32. Fireworks

**A/N:** _Remember the poll, people._ I'm giving you a chance to choose our next time warp, lol, and I hope you make good use of it. I was asked if I would pick up this chapter the moment that last chapter ended and the answer is no. Peepers, give them some privacy! LOL. (Later on, I might write a supplemental chapter to bridge last chapter and this one, but for now it remains as it is). Anyways, thanks for the reviews. You know I love reading them.

**Disc.:** Standard "I don't own anything" disclaimer.

* * *

**Fireworks**

Tears pricked her eyes, though Lily wasn't entirely sure why she was crying. She didn't know how long it had been, how many hours. She had skipped out on the end of the ball and the celebration, missed the fireworks extravaganza. She snickered slightly. That wasn't entirely true. There had been fireworks, at least for her. She sighed softly, as a hand brushed her hair from her face.

"Are you crying?" Scorpius asked in horror as he pulled back his hand. His fingertips glistened in the fireplace light. "Are you ok? Do you hurt?"

"I'm ok," Lily said quietly as she tilted her head up to look at him. He looked bewildered, a little frightened.

"Are you sure? I tried to be… _careful_, gentle," he said as his eyes searched her face. Her body twisted inside in pleasure at the memory.

"I'm sure, Scorpius," Lily said as smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. His eyes continued to search her face for any signs of deception, but he seemed to relax and he smiled.

"Good," Scorpius said. His fingers touched her cheek. Lily closed her eyes and listened to the quiet, steady sound of his heart beat, absorbing the warmth she felt radiating off his bare chest.

"I should go," Lily murmured, finally breaking the silence. Lily began to pull free of him.

"Please don't," Scorpius said. He wasn't eager to let her go.

"It's late, Scorpius," Lily said quietly as she smiled. She headed to his dresser and pulled out a tee shirt, pulling it on over her body. "I need to take a shower and get some sleep."

"You could sleep here," Scorpius said. Lily laughed.

"I doubt either of us is going to get much sleep tonight," Lily breathed as she picked up her clothes and belongings.

"Do you want me to walk you back to your room?" he asked as he went to get up. Lily shook her head.

"No need," Lily said. "But do me a favor, Scorpius."

"Sure, anything," Scorpius said as he watched her gather her things.

"Don't just up and disappear on me in the morning," Lily said. "I don't think I could bear it if I found out that all of this was just a dream."

"It's already morning, Lils," Scorpius said. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Good," Lily said. She turned to leave and she laughed. There was a little decorated spruce in the corner of the room.

"Yeah, I know. Silly tree," Scorpius said rolling his eyes. "I told her I didn't want one."

"It makes so much sense now," Lily commented. She grinned at him. "Your grandmother said that she was glad someone was enthusiastic about her thoughtfulness."

"I never needed my own tree," Scorpius said quietly. "I always had you with yours."

"Yeah, that's creepy," Lily teased. "I'll take that cloak back from you."

"Oh, I gave it to Albus last night," Scorpius said. "I figured I didn't need it. I would live with whatever decision you made. Even if it meant you kicked me out of your life forever."

"You thought that I would?" Lily asked as she walked closer to Scorpius. He shrugged, watching her carefully.

"Honestly, I didn't know how much a year and a half had changed for us," Scorpius said. Lily and he kissed, heat rising between them. She pulled away and he chuckled. "I'd dare say a year and a half changed a lot between us, but for the good. I love you."

"I love you too," Lily said as she took one last look at him, memorizing him in case it was all a dream, and headed back to her own bedroom as fast as her chilly feet would allow her. Lily was barely in her night clothes and tucked under her blankets before sleep consumed her completely.

* * *

Narcissa seemed very surprised when she brought breakfast up to Lily that morning, her eyes falling on the sleeping teen. Honestly, she hadn't expected to actually find Lily in her own bed alone. She had witness Scorpius and Lily talking, and she saw where Scorpius led the teenager off in a hurry. Narcissa hadn't seen hide or hair of the two the rest of the night. She smiled. Even a blind man could see how much each one cared for the other. Narcissa had the house elf place the tray on the table and she shook the girl's shoulder. Lily slowly pulled her eyes open, looking a little unhappy about being woken. She was having the most delightful dream about her and Scorpius doing things adults did alone on some warm, sandy beach in the islands.

"You disappeared last night," Narcissa said as Lily sat up. Lily's cheeks blazed with embarrassment. Narcissa raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.

"I… uh…" Lily stuttered. Narcissa shook her head.

"None of my business," Narcissa said with a smile. "I was wondering if you'd be up to playing today? I have a few ladies from the Witches' Auxiliary coming over and I got to thinking last night that your performance would be wonderful."

"Play in front of a lot of people?" Lily asked warily.

"Just a few witches," Narcissa said calmly.

"You've not even heard me play. It might come out off ill sounding," Lily said as she quickly psyched herself out.

"I'm sure you play wonderfully," Narcissa said. "In fact, I remember Scorpius mentioning that you had real talent to the point where he wondered why you were even going into healing when you could be a famous musician."

"I was never one who wanted to be famous," Lily said. "My dad was forced into the limelight before he knew his own name; my mom thrived in it as a Quidditch player. Even my brothers are well suited for that kind of life. Me, I just want to help people."

"And help them you will, spectacularly," Narcissa said. She smiled at Lily. "Please could you do this for me?"

"Um…" Lily thought hesitantly. She opened her mouth to talk and she was interrupted by a knock on the door. She breathed a sigh of relief as Scorpius poked his head in the door, a grin on his face.

"Gran! Good morning," Scorpius said as he entered. "How come you bring Lily breakfast but never me?"

"She's less annoying in the morning," Narcissa said playfully as she stood.

"Just the morning?" Scorpius taunted. Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"All the time, Scorpius," Narcissa laughed. "Actually, maybe you can do me a favor and convince Lily to play for the Witches' Auxiliary meeting today."

"Lily," Scorpius said with a half smile as he headed towards her. "Will you please do this for my Gran? It'd make her day, and I know I'd love to hear it."

"Ugh, fine," Lily said in a dazed sort of way. Scorpius laughed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you, Lily," Narcissa said as she reached the door. "I'll send a dress up."

"Super, more dresses to wear!" Lily grumbled as Scorpius summoned the tray.

"Man, you get the best breakfast foods," Scorpius said as he uncovered the plates.

"I think your Gran expected you to come," Lily said. "Or you to be here."

"What makes you think that?" Scorpius said as he swiped a piece of bacon off the plate.

"Do you really honestly think I could eat all this food?" Lily asked grinning as she snatched the bacon from him. "My bacon."

"Hey," he laughed as she took a bite. "I might have to get that back from you."

"Ooh, is that a threat?" She laughed as she climbed free of the bed covers.

"Still wearing my shirt?" he teased. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You'd better leave me something to eat, otherwise when I get back from my shower I'm going to kick your shins or something," Lily taunted as she gathered some things and headed into the bathroom.

"No promises!" Scorpius called. Scorpius waited, lounging in her bed while he listened to the shower run. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly and letting the memories from last night drift into his mind. It was perfect, she was perfect. He couldn't imagine loving another person as much as he loved Lily Potter. He smiled as he heard the shower silenced and he could imagine her every step, from drying off to dressing, and he felt that familiar pull deep within him, a dangerous emotion and desire that threatened to consume him in a gulf of flame.

"Did you nod off?" she teased lightly as she touched his cheek with her hand. She was warm, her skin slightly pink from her shower. He smiled as he drew her face to his, kissing her. She laughed lightly when he released her. "Don't you know, in Sleeping Beauty, the one who comes across the other sleeping is supposed to initiate the kiss?"

"I'm not the princess," Scorpius said as he sat up grinning. "I saved you first pick of everything."

"Awe you are the sweetest boy… uh… guy in the world," Lily said stumbling over her words. Scorpius looked at her slightly confused.

"You were about to call me your boyfriend, weren't you?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked away, blushing as she struggled to contain her smile.

"It's ok," Lily said after a moment. "I mean, I know just because… well… you know… I know it doesn't change anything."

"The hell it doesn't," Scorpius said as he pulled her against him. He was still reclining on her bed, and the position was pretty suggestive as Lily was drawn against his body, him tucked underneath part of her. "You can't honestly believe that I'd be ok with last night without at least the knowledge that in the morning, we'd be together."

"We are," Lily reminded him as her face flushed.

"I meant, I want you as my girlfriend. For real this time," Scorpius said quietly as he pressed his lips to hers. "I want no secrets, no hiding. Just you and me."

"Out in the open?" Lily confirmed. He nodded.

"I never wanted to hide our relationship, and when we were both at school, I could sort of understand with my being your Quidditch captain, but there is no reason to hide, unless you're ashamed of being associated with a Malfoy," Scorpius said. Lily's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"No, I love it," she promised.

"So, will you be my girlfriend, Lily? Just me? No Hill, no other random guys?" Scorpius asked quietly, almost as if he was afraid she'd decline. He held his breath. He really was afraid that she would not want to be his girlfriend. He looked at her, pleadingly. "Say something Lily."

"Ok," Lily said. She grinned as she kissed the only part she could reach from her position, the base of his throat. "Yeah, I want to be your girlfriend. Yours and only yours."

"Oh, good," he said rolled her to her back and kissed her quite properly.

"Lily… oh…" Narcissa said reentering the room after one quick tap of her knuckles to the door. She looked at the two of them. Scorpius grinned at her, pulling his mouth away from Lily.

"Hello, Gran," Scorpius said. "It's ok. Lily and I are dating exclusively now."

"Hi," Lily said weakly.

"I swear, you two are worse than Draco and Infamy," Narcissa said rolling her eyes. She was carrying a dress. "I'll just leave this here for you, Lily. Shoes are already in the closet and the ladies will be here in about an hour."

"Thank you," Lily said. Scorpius laughed and turned away from his grandmother, who was already retreating quickly from the room.

"We're you embarrassed?" Scorpius teased lightly. He loved that way she squirmed under him, uncomfortable with his grandmother seeing them together like that, even though they were both fully dressed.

"A little," Lily said.

"Why?" Scorpius asked. Lily laughed.

"You're hand is up my shirt, for one," Lily said. Scorpius chuckled and pulled his hand away.

"Oops," Scorpius laughed as he kissed her. He could feel the way she responded to his kiss and his touch, and it excited him. He loved the way her body seemed to need him. He pulled away, laughing when he saw her pout.

"Why'd you stop?" She asked. He grinned.

"We went about this all wrong. I should have worked up to last night, not started there," he said lightly as he traced her face with his fingers. "So, tonight, I want to take you on our first official date."

"We've been on dates before," she said.

"Not really, nothing like this," Scorpius said smiling at her. "You'll love it."

"I believe you," Lily said.

"You should eat before you get dressed," Scorpius said as he pulled away from her. "How about I feed you a bit of bacon?"

"Please," Lily said rolling her eyes and taking the piece of bacon he was holding. "I can feed myself."

"Hey, that's mine," Scorpius teased as he playfully swiped to take the bacon. He laughed grabbing a piece of toast. "This is better for me anyways. Can't afford to eat like I used to now that I'm getting so old. I don't have Quidditch to keep me trim."

"Will you come and listen to me play in a bit?" Lily asked after a few minutes of silently chewing on the bacon.

"Try to keep me away," Scorpius said. "I don't plan on being away from you longer than I have to be."

"That's going to be kind of hard when Christmas Holiday is over with," Lily commented quietly. Scorpius made a face.

"I'm trying not to think about that right now," Scorpius said. He wasn't telling the complete truth. It hung over their heads. It was impossible, even in the short moments that he didn't think of it. In a few weeks that they would have to be separated, that was an undeniable fact that Lily would go back to Hogwarts and Scorpius would start his training under his father in the Aurors' office. Still, he forced a smile.

"What?" Lily asked.

"You'd better get the dress on and ready to wow the heck out of those witches," Scorpius said as he kissed her cheek and headed to the door.

"I thought you'd stay a bit longer," Lily said. Scorpius shook his head.

"Don't worry, Lils," he said. "I'm not going too far; just to change out of these jeans. I'll be there to listen to you play. If those old bats make you nervous, you can play like you're only playing for me."

* * *

Lily had done well, better than well. She had played spectacularly, gaining the approval and compliments of the women who had attended the meeting. None of that meant much to her, though, he knew. Scorpius had watched her look around casually until her eyes landed on him and her face broke into that smile that made it damn near impossible for him to not rush her. He looked over at her now that they were huddled in thick coats and walking down a snow covered street.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"Apartment hunting," Scorpius said. Lily stopped in her tracks and he laughed as she tried to tug her hand away from his.

"We just started dating," Lily complained quiet fearfully. Scorpius laughed harder.

"Not for you or us, for me," Scorpius clarified.

"Why aren't you just staying at the manor?" Lily asked. Scorpius shrugged.

"It just makes more sense for me to try living on my own a bit," Scorpius said. "Plus, you can come see me this Easter."

"Hmm," Lily said quietly as she regained the use of her feet.

"Anyways, it'll give me a place to think without interruption while worrying about you out there in the big, wide world," Scorpius teased as he stopped at the steps of an older looking red brick building. He led her up the stairs and pressed the super's button.

"Yes?" a woman called through the static.

"Mr. Malfoy to look at the apartments," Scorpius said. The door buzzed and Scorpius swung the cast iron and glass door open, allowing Lily to walk in first. They were met in the front foyer near the rows of mailboxes by a short, fat little woman.

"Are you Mr. Malfoy?" the woman asked as she cast a critical eye over Lily and Scorpius. Lily tried to drop his hand, but Scorpius hung tightly to it.

"I am," he said.

"There are three vacant units on the same floor," she said. She led them up the stairs, huffing and puffing. "They are currently unoccupied. They are all on the market."

"Top floor?" Scorpius asked quietly. The woman nodded, her head bobbling on her shoulders.

"They are on the fourth floor," she said as she opened unit 4-A. Lily carefully followed Scorpius in, her hand tucked in his.

"Which way is west?" Scorpius asked. The woman checked and pointed to the large wall of windows and skylights.

"The whole outer wall of this unit is windows," the woman said as she looked at the file. Scorpius grinned and nodded once. "And there is half a section that points to the north. Lots of window in this and the east unit."

"Ok, the other units?" Scorpius said quickly as Lily headed to look out the windows. She followed them to the other two units. One small unit had very little in the way of windows, just one small bedroom and a small kitchen. The east unit, 4-C, was the mirror image of 4-A, with three large bedrooms, a large common area with kitchen, and three bathrooms.

"So, Mr. Malfoy?" the woman said. Scorpius nodded.

"Sounds great," he said. "I was certain before, but even more so now."

"Great," she said as she thrust the paperwork to him. Lily busied herself as she tried to imagine Scorpius in one of those units.

"The east unit is perfectly sized for James, Damon, and I," Scorpius told her as he and Lily left the apartment and headed toward the restaurant that they chose to eat dinner at.

"James? My James?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, didn't he tell you?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, no," Lily said as she let the Scorpius help her out of her coat before taking a seat. "That's going to nip in the bud me ever coming to visit. There is no way that my dad is going to let me if he knows I'm sleeping with you. And James'll tell him."

"You'd not be staying with me, silly," Scorpius said smirking as he held up a key. He pushed it toward her.

"What's that?" Lily asked as she stared at the key.

"It's a key," he smirked. "Don't look at it like I just proposed to you, Lils. I'm not that stupid."

"What's it a key to?" Lily asked tensely as she tried to pull her hand back. Scorpius was quicker and he held her hand. He pushed the key gently into her hand.

"It's the key to the small one bedroom unit," he said. Lily stared at the key and then looked at him.

"You bought me an apartment?" she asked. Scorpius laughed.

"I know better than that, Lils," he said. "It's the guest unit, but in case I'm not home, you won't be stranded outside of the building. I just want to make sure that you can have plenty of opportunities to see me."

"Um," Lily said.

"Look, I know you're going off to find the world, and I'm thrilled you are, and then the next year, you're going to WHI," Scorpius said. "Don't think that this is a way to tether you to me, because it's not. I want you to be happy and for you to have a place to visit me when and if you ever get any breaks."

"Please," Lily said. Scorpius looked at her confused as she closed her hands on the key.

"Please what?" Scorpius asked.

"Please don't make it seem like we should break up just because our lives are heading in two different directions," Lily said and for a moment she looked like she might cry. Scorpius opened his mouth in shock and slid around to her side of the table. He wrapped his arms around her quickly.

"I am too selfish to do that, Lils," he said. "I didn't work so hard to get us back together just to let you go. I know that the next couple of years are going to be hard, but I love you. I'm not going to let you go."

"Good," Lily said sniffling.

"Don't get upset," Scorpius begged her.

"Sorry," she said.

"Don't be," Scorpius said grinning. "You don't need to apologize. I like that you are upset about the idea of not being with me. It means that you can't live without me any more than I can live without you."

"Oh, so you like when I am upset, do you?" Lily teased as Scorpius returned to his side of the table.

"No, of course not," he said as the waiter arrived to take their order. The two of them ordered and sat in silence looking at each other. Lily couldn't help but smile at him and he knew why. She really did love him. He laughed in the silence, and she joined him, as if the two of them were sharing in their own private joke.

It was late when they returned to the house, and yet Scorpius wasn't eager to let Lily go quite yet. He would have been content staying with her all night if he could, though he knew that it was in his best long term interest not to push it with her. He held on to her hand as they came to the foyer that would separate them, him down one wing of the house, her down another. He went to open his mouth to say something, and instead kissed her. He loved the way she tasted, his fingers slipped into her hair, mussing it as he held her tight. He could feel his heart racing, heat flooding his skin. An ache began to build up deep within him. He wanted to be with her, even if that meant being so right there on the floor. He pulled away.

"What?" Lily asked breathlessly as her fingers continued to grip his shirt. He smiled.

"Good girls don't sleep with guys on the first date," Scorpius said quietly. "I'm not going to ruin your morals." Lily laughed.

"Too late," she giggled. She stood on her tiptoes but he turned his head.

"I love you," he said. Lily pouted for a moment.

"I love you too," Lily grumbled. He laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good night," Scorpius said breaking the contact between them. "See you in the morning."

"Technically it's already morning, Score," Lily called to him as she started down the hallway away from him.

"Good night," he called back laughing.

"This isn't over with, Malfoy," Lily said playfully.

"I hope not, Potter," he teased. Scorpius shook his head as he headed into his room, pulling his clothes off and climbing into bed. Despite his excited state, one that was almost painfully aware that he was alone, he drifted off to sleep almost immediately. He had one of the best dreams of his life, he and Lily together forever with a cute little sandy brown haired child and with Lily's intense blue eyes. He was in the middle of this dream, ready to pick up his and Lily's little offspring when the bed shifted slightly next to him waking him. He blinked sleepily for a second, regaining his bearings.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Lily whispered.

"Yeah," he yawned. "It's all right. Why aren't you asleep?"

"I had a nightmare," Lily murmured. "Do you mind much?"

"Not much, no," he yawned again. Scorpius wrapped his arms around her, drawing her up against him, her back to his chest, before he forgot he hadn't exactly dressed for bed in anticipation of company. He bit back a laugh. "Um, Lils?"

"Yeah?" she breathed quietly.

"Where are you clothes?" he asked. The room was silent while the pause stretched before them.

"Um," Lily said and Scorpius could practically feel the heat radiating off of her. No, actually he could feel the heat radiating off of her. He grinned.

"Lils?" He asked as he brushed Lily's hair off her neck. He pressed his mouth to her neck, kissing it lightly.

"They fell off?" Lily suggested quietly. Scorpius laughed as he turned her to face him.

"We're going to get into so much trouble, you know," Scorpius said. Lily nodded, only partially visible in the dark.

"I… I told you that this wasn't over," she breathed as she pulled his face to hers. He was powerless. He couldn't have been happier.


	33. NEWTs

**A/N:** Get your votes in for the new poll: choose the name of a new character to come up in like chapter 40 or so. Also, despite taking on two more classes, I should be able to focus on writing more. My husband ships off to boot camp and training on Oct 7th, so that is 25 weeks apart. Also, a reminder that I will be participating in NaNoWriMo in November, so the updates may drop off drastically during that time. Thank you to all of you who are reading and reviewing. Oh, and ONE year won as the next big jump in time, second place was five, so I am going to do two and a half. Originally I chose ten back when I was writing chapter 28 (actually, the original chapter 28 picked up when Lily was 25), but that wasn't good for the story. Don't worry, one way or the other, you'll read it.

**Disc.:** Standard "I don't own anything" disclaimer.

* * *

**N.E.W.T.s**

As much as Lily hated to admit it, she cried a little when she and Scorpius said their good-byes there in King's Crossing. She didn't care that her friends and family were all there, all around her to say their last good-byes before she departed and embarked on her very last term of her career at Hogwarts. She had stood there in Scorpius' arms, tears dampening his sweater as they said good-byes.

"Gee, Lily," Scorpius had said quietly. "Heaven forbid I ever die."

"Don't say that to her," Narcissa said popping him upside the head. Scorpius looked at Lily's horrified expression as she imagined what losing Scorpius permanently would feel like.

"I'm not planning on dying for a really long time," Scorpius said quickly. "I just meant you're just going back to school. This isn't like 'good-bye forever'. It's not even good-bye! I promised I'd be there to watch the big game between Slytherin and Gryffindor."

"I know," Lily said. She grinned through her tears. "I'm just being a big baby."

"Awe," Scorpius said as he hugged her again. He lowered his mouth to her ear. "Don't think this isn't tearing me up inside, too, Lils. I hate that you're going, but it's good. You have to finish school. We'll see each other at Easter."

"But I'm going to be so busy studying for my N.E.W.T.s," Lily grumbled. He laughed.

"Like you need to study," he teased. He kissed her, not caring that everyone was looking and gawking at the Head Girl sucking face with Scorpius Malfoy. Lily blushed as she pulled back slightly.

"You are one dangerous person to love, Score," she whispered.

"That's the pot calling the cauldron black, Miss Lily Potter," Scorpius said as he finally released her to board the train. Lily stopped in the doorway, the last person to board the train.

"See you in a few weeks?" she asked. Scorpius nodded.

"I promise," he said. "At the Quidditch match."

"I love you!" Lily called waving.

"I love you too!" Scorpius called back. Lily grinned and disappeared onto the train as it pulled out of the station.

"It's about damn time," Shale said as he and Nina lounged in the Head Car.

"I was saying good-bye," Lily protested. Nina giggled.

"He didn't mean that," Nina said. "We have all been wondering when you two would FINALLY get together."

"Who?" Lily asked.

"You and Scorpius, of course," Nina said. Lily shook her head laughing.

"No, I mean who has been wondering?" Lily asked.

"Oh, just all of our grade level. We thought that you guys had back in fifth year, but that didn't seem right. You guys were so unhappy there at the end of the year," Nina said gently. Lily blushed.

"We… tried then," Lily said uncomfortably. "It just wasn't our time."

"Well, I for one am happy that you two are dating," Shale said stretching. "Otherwise I was going to have to step up and take you both on, and that would have but a slight kink in our marriage vows, wouldn't it have?"

"Oh, shut it, you dirty old man," Nina laughed slapping his shoulder lightly.

"Oh, that's right, Mr. Zabini," Lily taunted. "You turned OLD over the Christmas Holiday, didn't you?"

"Eighteen is hardly old," Shale said dismissively. "If I'm old at eighteen, your man Malfoy is ancient at almost twenty."

"Too funny," Lily said.

"Go away Shale, Lily and I have to talk girl talk," Nina said suddenly. Shale looked at her in surprise, but stood.

"Fine, fine," Shale said throwing his hands up in surrender. "I know when I am not wanted."

"Love you, baby," Nina called in a sickeningly sweet sing-song serenade. Lily threw up a little in her mouth.

"Love you too," Shale said without that same voice. Lily laughed as he slid the door closed, leaving the two girls alone in the car.

"Shale and I did it!" Nina whispered excitedly.

"Did it?" Lily asked confused. "Did what exactly?"

"We got married," Nina whispered. Lily looked at her, blinking.

"W-why? I thought that you two were going to get married right after graduation," Lily murmured as she looked at her friend. Nina's face fell slightly. "No, I am excited for you! Thrilled. I'm just curious why you hurried it up."

"I love him," Nina said as she brightened up again. "I just didn't want to wait."

"I'm really happy for you both," Lily said smiling. "Wow. Does Callie know?"

"Yeah, and I would have sent you an invite and I wanted to tell you at Christmas, but we hadn't told our family yet," Nina said.

"Oh, it's ok," Lily assured her. She hugged Nina tightly. "Wow, a married woman. I guess I don't have to go dress shopping over Easter, now. More time to study."

"Yeah, like you need to study," Nina teased. Lily rolled her eyes and the two girls chatted about the apartment that Nina and Shale were getting down by the ATA.

"So many of you guys are going into the Auror Training Academy," Lily commented as she took a moment to glance out the window at the darkening sky. "That should help keep down the competition at Wizard Healing Institute."

"Like there's any competition for you at the WHI!" Nina snickered as Shale entered the car. Nina's face lit up and Lily stood. She embraced him.

"Congrats, Shale, really," Lily said grinning. "I'm so happy for the both of you."

"Thanks, Lily," Shale said grinning. "I have you to thank for this."

"Yeah, so if it goes bad, we know who to blame," Nina teased. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I'll leave you two alone," Lily said. "I have some patrolling I should be doing. Don't make a mess."

"Haha, very funny," Nina said as Shale winked at the girl. "Oh."

"Yeah," Shale laughed as Lily closed the door behind her.

* * *

Everywhere Lily looked, she saw couples. At first it was as if the whole castle had decided to find love, but then Lily realized that she had spent the better part of the time since she sent Scorpius packing ignoring the fact that students all around her loved each other. It was as if she was blind and now could see. People were everywhere, embracing each other, outwardly embracing relationships.

It was also then that she noticed that a lot of people were talking about getting married. Maybe they had been all along, but now it was something that raced to the forefront of her mind. It consumed the thoughts of those around her. The thought gave her this intense feeling inside, like she would pass out in a cold sweat. She trembled at the idea, not because she didn't want to marry Scorpius but because the idea of marriage was scary. So much could go wrong. She loved him but she wasn't sure about herself enough. She laughed when her mind spiraled like that. They were nowhere near that kind of decision.

Time seemed to fly for Lily, and the big game between Gryffindor and Slytherin was on the horizon. Lily was excited about it from a Quidditch standpoint. The winner between the two would almost be guaranteed the house cup. She was also excited about the thought of playing and succeeding with Scorpius' eyes on her. The very thought excited her, and when they won, she'd get to celebrate that evening with him.

It was the morning of the game and Lily could barely contain her excitement. She skipped down to breakfast, practically, ignoring the fact that seventeen year old witches, especially Slytherin witches, shouldn't skip. She was in a fantastic mood. She grinned at everyone, sitting with her team. She had Shale to her left, and the seeker, a tiny second year girl, to her right. The team ate and headed to the locker room. Lily laughed and joked around with her teammates as she pulled off her school uniform.

She looked up from her bench, readying to pull her Quidditch robes on to see Draco Malfoy standing there in the doorway, looking rather uncomfortable as various Quidditch players darted about in various states of undress. He had raindrops in his hair and a frown. Lily patted the seeker on the shoulder, saying something before she strolled up to him. She thought about the fact that she probably would have better served her stance if she wasn't wearing just the under Quidditch attire.

"Draco," Lily said with a confused smile on her face.

"Lily," he said. He pulled an envelope out of his cloak, water droplets warping the parchment slightly.

"What's that?" Lily asked. It was as if her heart dreaded the answer it already knew. Draco sighed and looked apologetically.

"He wants to be here, Lily, he does," Draco said quietly. Lily took the envelope from Draco and nodded wordlessly. "I'll be there, cheering our fellow Slytherins on for the victory."

"T-thanks," Lily said as she turned away from Draco. She headed back to her locker, dressing for the match with less spring in her step. She quickly read his note, disappointed even further that it offered no explanation, just an apology for not being able to come. She hung on to that thought. He wasn't _able_ to come, not that he didn't_ want_ to come. Surely it accounted for something.

"Ok, team. We all know how important our rivalry is with Gryffindor," Lily addressed the team vibrantly as she pushed aside her disappointment for further evaluation when she could do so privately. The Slytherins took the field, playing valiantly against Gryffindor despite the pouring rain of spring. The match remained neck and neck. The rain stabbed at them, the wind whipping at them as they flew. Lily flew near the diminutive seeker, the poor thing barely hanging on.

"Carli, you have to catch the snitch as soon as possible," Lily told her as a bludger came flying their way. Lily sent it soaring towards the Gryffindor keeper, nearly colliding with the poor boy. "As soon as you can, catch it and end this game."

"Ok!" Carli called as she went off in search of it some more.

Lily saw it at the same time Carli saw it. Lily screamed loud, cheering as the game ended, snitch in Carli's hand. She was closest to Lily and the little girl flew up to her, holding the struggling gold ball up and Lily embraced her cheering. The rest of the team swarmed and they were hugging and cheering, dripping with rain. Lily remembered how it felt to be that young, to look to the older players for approval, and Lily grinned.

"You did fantastic, Carli. You did it!" Lily cheered. The small girl beamed and Lily couldn't help but wonder if she needed to be better praising her team. She smiled at the girl. "I couldn't be happier."

"Thank you," Carli said blushing and the team headed off the pitch. Lily followed; glancing up in the stands to see Draco stand, still safely dry for the most part under his umbrella. He waved slightly at Lily, who returned his wave before she headed into the locker room.

The Slytherin common room was loud; obnoxiously loud and while the fifth and seventh years would normally use this time to study their fast approaching exams, it was one of the few times that the noise was permitted. After all, they had practically cinched the house cup with the win. Lily refused to let her disappointment reflect in the atmosphere of the room and she ignored the ache that his absence made. She knew he'd never have done it on purpose, broke his promise and she could only speculate why he hadn't been able to come.

"Ms. Potter?" the head mistress interrupted Lily as she and Shale were giving a play-by-play strategy attack of the game they had just won. Lily turned and looked at the woman.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," Lily said politely.

"Perhaps we can talk?" she asked. Lily momentarily had a fit of internal panic, thinking something was horribly wrong, but she suppressed the bubbling feeling and nodded with a smile. Lily turned back to Shale and smiled.

"I'll see you guys later and we can start planning on how we will annihilate the Ravenclaw team," Lily said as she followed the woman out of the Slytherin common room. Lily couldn't remember the last time she had been in the head mistress' office, if she had even ever been in there. She looked up at the portraits surrounding the room, her eyes resting on the one of Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster from her father's six years at Hogwarts. The man watched her with a casual gaze and Lily quickly looked back to her head mistress.

"I asked you here because I've been talking to your professors and they believe that you are ready now, have been since before last year, actually, to take your N.E.W.T.s," Professor McGonagall said as she took a seat behind the huge desk. Lily looked at her.

"Um," Lily said biting her lip slightly.

"Apparently, you have made an impression on a good many people in your years and there is talk of allowing you to start taking advanced classes at the Wizard Healing Institute," Professor McGonagall said. "I was in contact with the administrators there, and normally they do not take any witches or wizards younger than eighteen into the program, and never have they offered an accelerated program, but they have reviewed your extensive educational program and believe that you and this new program would be a good fit."

"Oh," Lily said quietly.

"Indeed," Professor McGonagall said.

"When would I need to take the N.E.W.T.s?" Lily asked. Professor McGonagall looked down at the file.

"The N.E.W.T.s are just a formality," Professor McGonagall said. "They want you to start the program in about three weeks, so ideally we'd like to administer your N.E.W.T.s on Saturday, to give you time to brush up on anything you feel you may need to look over."

"Saturday as in two days from now?" Lily asked. Professor McGonagall nodded.

"Yes, in two days from now," she replied.

"What about Quidditch and Head Girl duties?" Lily asked.

"The WHI is aware that you still have two matches left and are prepared to let you still apparate back and forth practices and games unless you think it'd be too much," Professor McGonagall said. "As for Head Girl duties, Shale will pick up the Head duties."

"Can I think about it?" Lily asked.

"Certainly," Professor McGonagall said. "I'll go ahead and prepare the examiner just in case you do decide to go ahead with the N.E.W.T.s."

"Thank you," Lily said as she stood, taking it as her cue to leave. Lily headed back to the celebration there in the Slytherin dungeon. More now than before, she wished Scorpius had been there with her. She'd have loved the chance to talk to him about it. This changed everything. If she did this, she'd be fast-tracked to a Healer. She'd not get to travel, not now, but she'd always be able to on her vacation. Then maybe Scorpius could go ahead and travel with her. The more she thought about it, the more she knew she'd probably do it.

* * *

Lily sat alone in a classroom, minding her own business on the most beautiful Saturday known to exist. She was a bundle of nerves as she took her N.E.W.T.s, the written part and practical taking up most of the afternoon. She finished up with just a few hours before dinner, the weight from worry of how she did lifted. It was all over with, sink or swim, Lily was done with exams. If she passed, and she was sure she would, Lily would start the advanced, accelerated courses at the WHI. Panic set in as she thought about how she was going to tell her team and family.

"Shale, I need to talk to you," Lily said. Nina looked up at her curiously but Lily's smile was stressed and Nina didn't push it.

"Ok," Shale said as the two of them left the common room. He and Lily headed down to the prefect meeting room and took a seat. He looked at Lily, worried. "Lily, what is it? You've got me really worried."

"I didn't want to say anything until after I made my decision, but now it's done, it's over," Lily said quietly. "I took my N.E.W.T.s today, that's why I couldn't go to Hogsmead with every one today."

"Wow, your N.E.W.T.'s?" Shale said quietly.

"Yeah," Lily said. "I'm leaving in two weeks."

"What about Quidditch?" Shale asked.

"I'll come back for practices and for the last two matches," Lily said. "The only thing that is going to change is that you would have to take up all of my duties. You'd be responsible for all the head duties in my absence. If you think it's too much…"

"Where are you going? Running off to marry Scorpius like the rest of the future Aurors?" Shale asked. Lily looked at him.

"What? No. What, wait? All of those future Aurors are getting married?" Lily asked frowning. "Why?"

Shale looked at her, hesitantly. He looked as if he wanted to say something but instead clammed up, looking at her. "So where are you going?"

"The Wizard Healing Institute," Lily said distracted.

"I thought that they didn't take any candidates until after Hogwarts? Though, with your skills, I don't doubt that they want chance losing you to like HII or HAW," Shale said.

"Yeah, but I never really wanted to go to the Healing Institute of Indonesia or Healing Arts of the West. It's always been WHI," Lily said quietly as she thought. "I'm not sure how my dad's going to take it, yet, or how I'm going to pay for it."

"I'm sure Scorpius wouldn't mind," Shale said. Lily looked at him horrified.

"I couldn't ask him to loan me the money," Lily said.

"I'm sure he'd give it to you," Shale said. Lily shook her head.

"I'm not asking him for the money," Lily said in horror.

"He's your boyfriend," Shale said. "If Nina came to me and asked, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"You and Nina have been together for two years," Lily protested.

"And you and Scorpius have been in love with each other, one way or another, for like seven years," Shale said quietly. "I bet if you asked him he'd hand over the keys to everything he owns."

"I'm not like that," Lily said.

"You should think about it, definitely," Shale said. He smiled at her. "I can handle things, Lily. Don't worry about your Head duties. It'll be ok. I'll handle practices with the younger kids and we'll see you at the match."

"Assuming I score well enough on my exams, right?" Lily said. Shale laughed.

"Sure," Shale said. "Like you are going to do anything less than perfect."

* * *

Lily sat in Professor McGonagall's office a few days later, Harry in the chair next to her. Harry was conversing quietly with Professor Dumbledore's portrait when Professor McGonagall walked in holding an envelope. She looked neither happy nor sad. She just was. She looked at Harry, exchanged a few quick pleasantries and handed the envelope to Lily. Lily turned it over in her hand, her fingers lingering on the flap.

"I can't do it," Lily said nervously as she forced the envelope into her father's hand. "Please, Dad."

"Lily, I'm sure that it'll be fine," Harry murmured as he slipped his finger under the flap. He pulled the results sheet free and looked them over. "Well…"

"What? What is it?" Lily asked nervously. She clutched her dad's sleeve tightly.

"You…" Harry murmured. His face broke into an intense grin. "You call all N's!"

"Whee!" Lily squealed as she threw her arms around Harry's neck. "I did ok!"

"You did better than ok, Lily. You did marvelously," Professor Dumbledore said proudly from his portrait.

"So, you're sure about this. You want to go ahead and enroll in the WHI accelerated program?" Professor McGonagall asked though she already had the owl on her desk ready for the answer. Lily and Harry looked at each other.

"Yeah," Lily said nodding. "Yes, ma'am, I'm sure I want to do this."

"What about traveling?" Harry asked. Lily looked at him and he put his hands up in surrender. "I just want to make sure that you don't regret it."

"I'll have plenty of time to travel on my holidays, Dad," Lily said quickly. "Haven't I always said that I wanted to go straight into my studies? I got off track but I really want to do this dad. I know it's a lot of money sooner than you thought but I'll get a job and…"

"Oh, no worries about that, Lily," Professor McGonagall said. "Apparently you impressed a Madame Fuchsine and she has graciously sponsored your education and a small stipend for your basic needs."

"Oh, that's too generous," Lily said as she took the letter that Myrtle Fuchsine had sent. The schooling had already been paid for and indeed, there was an account for Lily at Gringott's to pay for her basic needs.

"You really must have impressed her," Professor McGonagall said. "She's known as the richest and stingiest witches of our time. For her to so graciously do this… though it's to be expected. You are probably one of the best, if not the best, students to ever grace the halls of Hogwarts."

"I will have to visit her to thank her," Lily said as her face blazed.

"So, I guess that is it," Professor McGonagall said as she sent the owl on its way. "Enjoy your Easter Holiday apartment hunting and good luck."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said shaking the woman's extended hand.

"See you at the next Quidditch match," Professor McGonagall said as Lily left Hogwarts with her father. The two walked down the lane the cool, damp air ruffling their hair.

"So, you are sure this is what you want, Lily? There's no rush to grow up," Harry told her. Lily nodded.

"I'm not rushing to grow up, just ready to get my life started," Lily said. Harry nodded.

"How's Scorpius taking it?" Harry asked. Lily looked away, focusing on a small stone that she kicked down the path with the toe of her shoe.

"I'll tell him when I visit him over the Easter Holiday," Lily said. Harry tensed slightly.

"Honey, I don't know how much time he's going to be able to spend with you," Harry said quietly. "Auror training has been pretty intense and I know the hours have really been wearing on our newest recruits."

"I know," Lily said sighing.

"He wanted to be there, at your game," Harry said. "It's the main reason your mum and I held off on starting our family. The early years of Auror-ism are cruel and unforgiving sometimes. It's hard."

"Dad, can I ask you something?" Lily asked quietly as they continued through the school gates.

"Sure, Lily," Harry said. Lily bit her lip as she stopped, glancing back at the school momentarily.

"And you'll tell me, right? The answer? The truth?" Lily asked. Harry looked at her warily.

"As much as I can tell you, yes," Harry said. Lily nodded.

"Is there any reason that a lot of future Aurors rushing off to get married?" Lily asked. She looked at Harry, who looked rather uncomfortable.

"There's no reason to be concerned," he told her. He didn't quite meet her eyes.

"But it's true, isn't it? There has been an increase, hasn't there?" Lily asked.

"Lily, you have nothing to be worried about," Harry told her firmly. "I can't really give you much more information than that. It's classified."

"Oh," Lily said quietly. "But James and Scorpius know?"

"And Albus," Harry confirmed quietly. "That is much more than I can tell you, honey. It's for your protection and the protection of all non-Aurors that the information we come across is classified. I wish it was safe to tell you, but it's not. Things have really changed a lot in the past twenty or so years."

"You'd tell me if there was something to worry about, wouldn't you?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"Honey, if there is anything to worry about, any danger, you would be the first person that I'd send for," Harry promised as he wrapped his arms around you. "Come home, clean up, and why not go visit Scorpius. I believe his training team has off tonight and all tomorrow."

"Ok," Lily said.

"Are you good to apparate?" Harry asked.

"Passed with flying colors," Lily said as her face brightened up.

"Didn't expect anything less," Harry said. He hesitated. "Oh, and by the way. You're an aunt."


	34. Happy Early Birthday Lily

A/N: Keep voting, if you haven't. The new character needs a name (and by choosing a name, you're choosing its gender). This character will really change the dynamics between Lily and Scorpius, so choose wisely.

Disc.: The Standard "I didn't create the world" blanket statement.

* * *

Happy Early Birthday Lily

Lily was waiting there when Scorpius got home, sitting on his couch. She was wearing a black skirt, a tight shirt, her legs were crossed, and her black dress shoes swinging back and forth. She was holding a book, it was open across her lap. Scorpius walked in, yawning slightly as he dropped his bag on the table by the front door. He walked into the room, his face tired and weary. He looked at her, his eyes blinking a few times if he thought that perhaps she was a hallucination. He had been prone to think she was there with him from time to time, when he was most tired.

"Lily?" he asked uncertainly as he blinked a few more times.

"Hey, Scorpius," Lily said quietly as she remained sitting on his sofa. She glanced around. "I like what you've done to the place. I didn't want to hang out in the guest unit. Hope you don't mind, James' key let me in."

"I don't mind," he said quietly. He rushed across the room, barely able to contain himself as he pulled her up off the couch. The book slipped to the floor with a thud as he tangled his fingers in her hair and drew her up against his body. They were wordless for some time, letting their mouths speak soundlessly the language of their long-denied-passionate bodies.

"Oh, come on," groaned James as he dropped his bag on the floor by the front hall table. "She's my sister."

"Like you don't like a little lip action from time to time with that witch down in payroll?" Damon asked as he too dropped his bag. Lily pulled back, grinning at the two of them.

"Thanks for letting Dad borrow the key for me," Lily said as she placed the key on the coffee table.

"No problem," James said. "Are you coming to the house to see our new little niece, Tina?"

"Yes, of course," Lily said. She had heard that James had willing surrendered his room at the house for Albus and Kate to turn Albus' old room into a nursery for tiny Tina. It was the best situation for all of them, and Lily knew that the minute that she found a place, she'd relinquish her room to them so Kate and Albus could just cut through to the baby's room. Lily turned to Scorpius. "Are you up to coming with me?"

"Sure," Scorpius said yawning. "Let me shower and change, then I'll be ready."

"Are you sure? You look really tired," Lily said. Scorpius shrugged.

"I'll be alright," he assured her.

"Ok, later, I want to talk to you about something important, ok?" Lily said. She looked to her now sleeping brother and sighed. "Alone."

"Ok," Scorpius said slowly as he looked at her warily. "Let me take a shower and we'll go visit your new niece. Tonight we can talk."

"Sound good," Lily said smiling as she ignored the soft snores of James lounged out on the couch.

"Is… is it anything I need to be worried about?" Scorpius asked hesitantly. "You're not like pregnant or dumping me or anything."

"No! Of course not!" Lily said sharply. Scorpius winced.

"Just checking," he said as he retreated to his bedroom. Lily glanced at her brother, smirking. He looked as tired and weary as Scorpius had. Lily headed into the kitchen, following Damon. He smiled at her, handing her a can of soda.

"We drink our weight in this stuff," Damon said. Lily smiled, popping the tab on it and taking a sip. She peeked into the refrigerator, frowning.

"You guys eat a lot of crap, don't you?" Lily asked. Damon shrugged.

"There's not much time left in the day to cook a balanced meal," Damon said quietly. Lily raised an eyebrow but didn't push it.

"So, training is going well, then?" Lily asked. Damon sighed.

"You know none of us can talk about anything," Damon said unenthusiastically. Lily shrugged, grinning.

"Well, you can't blame me for wanting to know," Lily said.

"No, I can't," Damon said grinning weakly. "You're not going to break up with him, are you?"

"Why would I?" Lily asked.

"I just over heard Harry talking to Draco about your new situation and you think it's hard now, never seeing each other and you're pretty much available to him whenever he can get a chance, which is nearly never," Damon said. "It's going to be ten times worse when you are just as busy as he is."

"Hard or not, that part doesn't last forever," Lily said. She thought a moment, deciding to change the subject. "Are you running off to marry anyone?"

"No," Damon said with such finality that Lily didn't say anything more. She took her cue to leave him alone in the kitchen and headed back to the living room, retrieving her book and starting to read it. She didn't realize how deep she had gotten into the story until Scorpius touched her knee.

"Studying hard?" he asked. Lily shook her head.

"I've already passed my N.E.W.T.s, actually. I scored perfect scores," Lily said. Scorpius looked at her in surprise.

"I thought that they didn't administer the test until a few weeks after Easter," Scorpius said confused. "Did they change things?"

"No," Lily said. "I took it early. It's actually kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, good, you're ready," James yawned loudly as he stretched. "Let's get going."

"We can talk later," Lily assured Scorpius as the three of them left the apartment, Damon already snoozing in one of the chairs.

Lily wasn't surprised that the house looked no different than when she had left for school, aside for the obvious things. There were spit up clothes everywhere. Lily glanced at James as Albus came downstairs looking rather frantic. He was holding a screaming little thing wrapped in pink, its face bright red. Kate was sobbing upstairs as loudly as the baby. Scorpius plopped himself on the couch, not saying anything. James joined him. Neither even glanced at Harry who was warming a bottle in a pan. Albus tried to talk over Tina's screams.

"Hey, Lily! How are you?!" Albus yelled. The noise caused Tina to cry harder.

"Bottle?!" Harry yelled as he held the warmed milk bottle to Albus. Albus took it, trying to feed Tina, who screamed louder, her face turning a rich puce color.

"It's no good," Albus yelled handing Harry the bottle back in defeat as Kate wandered downstairs. "She's already eaten."

Lily looked around at her family. Everyone looked so tired and frustrated, and this baby was screaming bloody murder. Lily felt helpless. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know anything about babies, other than what she read but everyone looked like they were about to drop dead from exhaustion, whether it be from work or the baby. Lily held her arms out to Albus wordlessly. Albus looked at her in bewilderment, knowing Lily was not a baby person, but he relinquished the squalling beast over immediately. He was too frustrated and tired to care.

Lily did the quick physical check, diaper and feeding, the infant still crying hard. She glanced around the room until she found a baby blanket. She unfolded the blanket and placed Tina in the middle of it, wrapping her up tight like a burrito. The baby was still crying but not nearly as hard as she had been. Lily picked her up and carried her to the piano. She didn't know anything about babies, but she knew music was soothing. She took off her sweat shirt and used it to tie the baby firmly against her chest, the baby's face resting against the exposed skin over her breast bone, her tank top not holding the heat to her body.

Lily began to play quietly, the notes slow and deliberate as she softly sung along. Lily had always felt awkward singing lullabies, but she felt natural singing and playing for her niece. She moved from one song to another, never hesitating and never stopping. For a good hour, she played and sung quietly, not noticing as the room became still and quiet. The crying had stopped and Lily dared to look down at her niece, certain that the child had finally cried herself out. Lily smiled in surprise to see the two week old infant staring up at her with the brightest green eyes that Lily could have ever hoped to have seen if her own family hadn't had them. Tina blinked and watched Lily, listening to her play and sing.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that her brothers, sister in law, and father were all fast asleep. Exhaustion had finally claimed them as their slaves and they had all nodded off where they sat, some in rather awkward positions. Lily was surprised to see Scorpius much wider awake than when they had arrived and watching her with such intensity that it made Lily blush slightly.

"What?" Lily asked quietly as she continued to play.

"I thought you didn't like kids," Scorpius said in a similarly quiet voice.

"I never said I didn't like them," Lily replied as she headed into yet another lullaby she knew. "I just said that I didn't want to be a mother."

"Why?" Scorpius asked as he watched her intently. "You're very good at it."

"Correction," Lily said as she played. "I'm very good at playing the piano and I am not sleep deprived."

"Still," Scorpius said.

"Kids aren't in my future," Lily said quietly. "I'm too career-oriented to worry about whether there is someone there to feed or care for my offspring."

"Well, for what it's worth," Scorpius said shrugging. "I think you'd make a wonderful mother."

"I get one baby to stop crying and you think I'd make a wonderful mother," Lily smirked.

"That baby hasn't stopped crying since she was born, aside for a few gulps of milk here and there," Scorpius said as he picked up the bottle and handed it to Lily. "That's why she's so runty."

"Tina's not runty," Lily said in quiet defensiveness as she offered the baby the bottle. Tina greedily downed the bottle and Lily burped her. She had stopped playing, untied the baby from her sweater and sat in the rocking chair that her mother and father had rocked her, Albus, and James in as babies.

"I know for a fact that no one's been able to get her to eat more than a sip at a time," Scorpius said quietly. "They were afraid that she has been starving and the Healers were clueless as to what to do since vitality potions have to be drunk and the baby wouldn't."

"Beginner's luck," Lily assured him as she continued to rock Tina.

"Goes to show you how great you will be as a Healer," Scorpius said as he came and sat on the small table next to her.

"Speaking of," Lily said quietly. She watched as Tina's eyes began to flutter slightly. "I took my N.E.W.T.s early so that I can start the WHI in about a week. They've decided that I would make an excellent candidate for their newly developed accelerated program."

"What about traveling?" Scorpius said frowning.

"I can do it after I get my training in, Score," Lily said as she looked away from Tina's face and looked at Scorpius' face. "That way you can be with me."

"Your training is only a few years long, why are you rushing it?" Scorpius asked.

"It's not a few years, just a year, and I'm not," Lily promised quietly. "I'm ready to get my real life started, and anyways, this is an excellent opportunity."

"I don't doubt that, but your dad's struggling a bit to afford training and housing for everyone as it is," Scorpius said quietly. "Don't you think he might need a little warning before you start, too?"

"My dad's not struggling," Lily defended. "And no one needs to worry about me."

"Because you think I'm going to pay for it?" Scorpius said as he got a little angry.

"No," Lily said sharply. "I'd never ask you to."

"I'll do it, you know," Scorpius said sighing. "I just don't want you to give up your chance at a youthful travel."

"I'm not asking you to do anything, Scorpius," Lily said annoyed. She fought to keep her temper in check. "I already have a sponsor who has graciously funded my education. I just need your help to find a small apartment to rent. Obviously I was mistaken to think that you would not only be happy to help, but that you'd be happy for me."

"I am happy for you," Scorpius said quickly, his tone softening to a sweet regretful tone. "I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"I never wanted to travel, Scorpius. I already told you that," Lily said quietly as she continued to rock the baby.

"I know, I hoped though," Scorpius said quietly. "The idea of you being in London alone on your own right now scares me."

"S-scares you? Why?" Lily asked uncertainly. Scorpius looked away quickly.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just don't know that I like you living off on your own," Scorpius said shrugging noncommittally. "Why not stay in the guest unit?"

"It's too small," Lily said. "Anyways, where will your guests stay? I'd be much happier having my own apartment. I just hoped you'd come along with me when you can while I look. I don't want to end up leasing in a bad neighborhood."

"I can do that," Scorpius said quietly. He smiled at Lily, his eyes dropping to the face of the baby. "She's asleep."

"I can feel that," Lily murmured as she continued to rock her.

"Tell me you never once thought about being a mother and wife," Scorpius challenged. Lily laughed ruefully.

"I thought about it once," Lily admitted. She openly smirked at Scorpius. "Then I woke up screaming."

"Be serious," Scorpius said. Lily shook her head.

"I'm not cut out to be a mother or a wife," Lily told him. Scorpius sighed.

"I disagree, but I'm not going to try and convince you," Scorpius said. "Not tonight."

"I guess I'm staying the night," Lily said as she looked around. "These people are dead to the world and I can't very well leave my niece in their care like this."

"I'll stay with you," Scorpius said. "Your dad knows we're together. It's not like we'll be doing anything but sleeping."

"Too tired to apparate home, huh?" Lily teased as Scorpius yawned.

"Yeah," he admitted. Lily carried the baby up the stairs, wondering if she should risk laying her in the crib. She decided against it, not wanting to risk waking her family downstairs. She climbed onto her bed, Scorpius next to her. Lily fell asleep with Tina's little face pressed against her heart.

* * *

Lily had to admit she was terrified when she woke that next morning to find Tina not in her arms or even on the bed next to her. Lily sat up franticly searching the bedding as Scorpius walked in, wearing just a white sleeveless undershirt. He was carrying Tina, a bottle securely in her mouth. Lily sighed in relief as Scorpius climbed back into bed with Lily. Neither of them talked as Scorpius repeated Lily's actions from the night before. The three fell back to sleep quite naturally and they were found that way, almost as if they were a little family, the next morning by Albus and Kate. The two were thankful for the night of solid sleep and begged Lily to come and visit often.

"Of course she will," Scorpius committed for Lily as the two readied to leave. Harry even looked more relaxed and rested.

"Go figure," James said good-naturedly. "The one of us who doesn't want a family is the one of us who seems to be naturally inclined to be great at it."

"Very funny, James," Lily said. She let the meaning flood over her. He grinned as she realized what he meant. "You want to be a dad?"

"And a husband," James said grinning. "I'm well on my way. I've already asked Maggie to marry me."

"Who's Maggie?" Lily asked as she embraced her brother in congratulations.

"She works in payroll," James said grinning. Lily laughed.

"I guess the rumors are panning out to be true," Lily said shrugging. "All of the future Aurors are getting married in droves." Everyone tensed at what Lily thought was supposed to be a light poke of fun. She looked at them with unshielded surprise.

"We should be going," Scorpius said quickly. "You have an apartment to find before you start your training."

"You guys do realize that I won't remain in the dark about this forever," Lily threatened lightly as she gathered her stuff.

"Please, Lily," Harry practically begged. His eyes were filled with pain and sadness. "Don't push this."

"Fine," Lily said in a huff as she and Scorpius left. Scorpius didn't say anything. Instead the two spent the better part of the day looking at apartments. He sighed.

"Look, Lily, if I tell you something, will you keep it quiet?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him in surprise.

"Yes, of course," she said.

"Promise, no matter what you won't breathe a word," he asked.

"Yes, yes, of course," Lily said nodding.

"I want you to do me a favor," he said quietly. Lily looked at him in confusion. "Promise me you will."

"Depends on what it is," Lily retorted quietly.

"I want you to live in the building, just for a year," Scorpius said quietly as his eyes scanned the street.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Lily asked.

"I can't tell you much, actually I shouldn't tell you anything, but I love you and am really worried about you and your safety," Scorpius said in a hushed tone. "If your dad knew, he'd kill me and kick me out of the program."

"I won't tell," Lily promised.

"And you'll stay in the apartment?" he asked. Lily hesitated.

"I guess, yes," Lily said. "Even though it's too small."

"I'll work on that," Scorpius said. "I already have been. I just figured I'd have more time than I do. I'll explain that later. Look, Lils, there's danger everywhere, but lately our government has been pissing off the governments of some pretty angry folks. There's been intelligence that the werewolves and the trolls have teamed up with the vampires to overthrow the ministry. They don't think they should have to hide from the muggles anymore."

"How is that dangerous?" Lily asked.

"They're attacking and killing innocent witches and wizards, as well as muggles alike. Outside of their normal hunting grounds," Scorpius said quietly. "I can't tell you anymore than that. I shouldn't have told you that much, but the thought of you getting hurt trumps my duty as an Auror. Please, though, don't tell anyone."

"I won't," Lily said as she hugged him. "It's why you guys have been so tired. Running double shifts?"

"And triples, occasionally," he said.

"Sounds very wearing," Lily said as she patted his back. Scorpius pulled back and nodded.

"I love it, though," he said. He grinned. "So now that I have you agreeing to stay in the small unit for the time being, we don't have to go apartment hunting. Do you want to go do something?"

"You look dead on your feet, Score," Lily said carefully. "Maybe we can just hang out back at your place and watch a movie."

"Ok, sounds good," he said nodding as he draped his arm around her shoulders. He kissed her lightly and the two headed back towards Scorpius' apartment.

* * *

Scorpius looked up at her sleepily as Lily dressed early. She had been spending the night with Scorpius on the nights that he wasn't working or training, sneaking out just before dawn so not to get caught by James. A few times she had passed Damon in the hallway or in the living room, but he didn't say anything about it, just laughed quietly and continued to mind his own business. Typically, Scorpius and Lily just slept. Exhaustion washed over him from the hours he kept.

"Where are you going?" Scorpius asked quietly. "James is on a double and won't be home until noon."

"I have to meet with Madame Fuchsine," Lily reminded him. "I told you about it a few days ago. I have to have noontime tea with her."

"Sorry, Lils," Scorpius groaned. "I must have forgotten."

"It's ok," Lily said shaking her head. He started to get out of bed.

"I was kind of hoping you'd stay a bit longer," he said quietly as a excited glint sparkled in his eyes. "It's been a while since we've _been _together, and I want to give you a present."

"Tempting," Lily said as she abandoned her shoes and climbed back into bed with him.

"Which part?" Scorpius teased as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hmm," Lily pondered as Scorpius kissed her neck. "Both."

"Ok, how about us now, present afterwards, and then you can head off to noontime tea," Scorpius breathed. Lily laughed as pulled back a little.

"No, I want my present now," Lily said giggling as she held out her hands. She bounced slightly on her knees, excited.

"I don't have it here, not really," Scorpius said. Lily pouted, crossing her arms playfully.

"Awe, and I really wanted it," Lily said. Scorpius pulled her down into his arms. They kissed a bit before he climbed out of bed.

"Let's go get your gift," Scorpius said.

"Ok, ok," Lily said grinning. "Let me just get my shoes on and we can head out. I think my purse is around here somewhere."

"You won't need it," Scorpius said grinning. He took a confused looking Lily by the hand, leading her across the apartment.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked curiously.

"Don't be mad," Scorpius said quietly. "I got you something that I know you are going to love, though I think you will be a little annoyed at me first."

"Ok," Lily said slowly as Scorpius grabbed his keys. She looked at him raising an eyebrow at him.

"Trust me," Scorpius said as he opened the door. Barefoot, the two of them headed out in the hall way and padded down past the small guest unit.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked.

"To your new home," Scorpius said as he stopped at the unit 4A. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I thought we talked about me staying in the small unit," Lily said.

"You said it was too small," Scorpius said as he slipped the key in the lock. "And this was supposed to be your birthday gift. So… Happy Early Birthday, Lils."

Lily stood there with her mouth hanging open as Scorpius pushed opened the door for her. He stood behind her as the room spanned out in front of her. Lily's eyes looked around. She looked at him, wide eyed and Scorpius smiled at her. The room was perfect. In the middle of the room was the piano that she had always dreamed of in front of the wall of windows that would let in the afternoon sunlight; it was the center focal piece for all of the furniture in the room.

"Scorpius, it's too much," Lily breathed.

"But you like it, no?" he asked. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"I love it," she said as she pulled him into the apartment.

* * *

Lily stepped out of the shower, walking across the floor in her very own apartment. She laughed as Scorpius watched her slide her underwear over her hips and pulled her dress on over her body. He watched her with a grin from her bed. She brushed her hair into a neat pony tail and slipped her dress shoes on. He kissed her.

"Aren't you glad I moved all of your stuff while you were sleeping?" Scorpius asked as Lily touched her locket.

"Yes," Lily said as she smiled.

"You like it don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I love it," Lily said. She laughed. "I'm not sure that I need three rooms, personally, but hey, I love my birthday gift."

"I'm sure that you will make due," Scorpius said with playful morose. "Thankfully, I had the foresight to move some of my belongings in for when I spend the night."

"If you ever have a chance to be here when I am here," Lily teased lightly. "Classes start up for me in a few days."

"We'll make this work, Lils," Scorpius promised as Lily grabbed her purse.

"I know," Lily said smiling. She kissed him again. "We will make this work."


	35. A Death

**A/N:** Keep those votes coming in, there is still a little bit of time left! It looks like the character will be coming into the story sooner than chapter 40 at this rate. (We have now skipped ahead about 2-2.5 years). In the next couple of chapters, you guys aren't going to like Lily very much (I don't like her very much either, though I can understand her… _fear_…). Anyways, read. Enjoy and know I am done up to chapter 37 and will start chapter 38 tonight (Oct 4th).

**Disc.:** Standard "I didn't create it" disclaimer.

* * *

**A Death**

It was raining, the sky dark with the threatening storm. She looked up, blinking away the rain from her eyes. She had left her umbrella at work the previous night, not having needed the night before. She sighed, ducking into the bus stop quickly, glancing at the route map distractedly. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling deep rooted within her that things were about to change.

"How many tonight, Shanna?" she said as she placed her purse in her drawer. An older dumpy witch with a shock of white, sparse hair looked up with a haggard look to her face. Tiny gold rim glasses balanced precariously on the end of a long, pointy nose.

"Just four, but Mr. Longbottom's taking a turn for the worse," Shanna said shaking her head. "So many years under such mental conditions, I'm surprised he made it this long. I've already sent an owl to the family."

"Thanks, Shanna," she said.

"Lily, honey, have you been sleeping?" Shanna asked. The woman laughed, shaking out the rain from her dark auburn colored curls.

"My dad asked you to ask?" Lily teased as she clipped her name tag to her shirt.

"He worries," Shanna said as she gathered up some files.

"I'm twenty years old," Lily protested lightly. "I think I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that," Shanna said as she handed the files to Lily. "How's Scorpius?"

"Scorpius and I are fine," Lily laughed. "You've got to quit playing spy for my father."

"He worries," Shanna said. "You're going to give your old man a heart attack. You need to go see him."

"I will, I will," Lily huffed.

"Call your father and spend some time with him," Shanna pressed. "Go to Sunday supper. It's time to stop avoiding him so much."

"I'm not avoiding my father," Lily protested. Shanna patted Lily's arm and sighed.

"What I wouldn't have done to have a daughter like you, Lily," Shanna said. She started to walk away. "Marshall will relieve you at six."

"Good night, Shanna," Lily called as she headed toward the Critical Curse Unit's west ward. She smiled as she checked on her patients, one by one, and noted in their charts. She wasn't a fan of the night shift, but it worked well for her choice of life. It was easier to avoid her family and friends when she worked opposite of their shifts.

"I've three flowers," Mrs. Longbottom said. Lily broke into a grin. The poor old woman was holding a balled up tissue.

"You certainly do, Miss Alice," Lily said. "How are you feeling today?"

"I think pancakes, definitely pancakes," Alice said as she never quite made eye contact with Lily. Lily nodded.

"And syrup?" Lily asked.

"Gnomes, mainly," Alice said. Lily nodded and finished making her notes. Lily handed Alice a little carton of milk. The woman giggled like a little girl and scrambled to her bed.

"Goodnight, Miss Alice," Lily said. She headed to the second bed, the man wasting away before her eyes. Lily touched the brow of the man. "Hello there, Frank. How are you today? Did day shift treat you well?"

The man was silent, his eyes closed. He didn't react to Lily's words or touch. Lily felt his forehead with the back of her hand. It was less precise than just waving her wand over him and knowing his stats, which she would do, but she knew that touch was more personal and people like Mr. Longbottom deserved a little human interaction. Not that he didn't get it, his son came often to visit, as often as he could, and would bring along his wife and children, both who were now married with their own children.

"I'll bring you something for the pain, Frank," Lily whispered as she waved her wand over him like a hand held scanner. She tapped her page with her wand, the numbers immediately filling in on their boxes. Lily had been doing this now a year, working the night shift. In the beginning, she worried a little that it would affect her relationship with everyone, especially Scorpius. Lily laughed mirthlessly as she took her seat at the circular desk.

The relationship was one in the weakest sense of the word. They were still technically dating in the sense that she still called him boyfriend and he called her girlfriend. They maybe saw each other once a week, most times in passing. Lily wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet, not when she still had some fight in her left. They were committed to make it work, even though the odds were stacked against them. Lily gathered her supplies and headed in to Mr. Longbottom, easing his pain with a bit of IV potion. The rest of her patients were calm, sleeping, and it gave Lily plenty of time to work on her charts and just think.

It frustrated her slightly still that no one, not her father, brothers, or Auror friends, told her anything about the dangers that she knew that they were facing and fighting. She had to pretend that it didn't bother her when Scorpius would leave at the drop of a hat, disappear for weeks without word, and show back up as if he had never left. It was a bitter cycle, constantly repeating. She knew that Kate and Maggie, James' bride, handled it fairly well. Kate was already the mother to Tina, the cute little thing was already two and a half, and pregnant again; Maggie had a little boy named Petri, the one year old clone of James. Lily sat back, thinking. Rose was already married, as well, shortly before James had been married to a fellow Auror, Billy Meyers. She was expecting her first child. Hugo and his new bride, Sara, were actively trying for their first child.

"Damn Aurors," Lily said crossing her arms. Her voice sounded loud though she knew that it wasn't really that loud. It was part of running the night shift. She sighed. Everyone she knew that had become an Auror had run off and gotten married, sans Scorpius and Damon. She sighed and continued to work her shift. They all knew something that the rest of the wizarding world didn't and were in a hurry to start their families. Marriage and family, two things Lily did not want out of life.

Promptly at six in the morning, Marshall arrived to start the day shift. He grinned at Lily, his goofy grin plastered on his face. They were the same age, having gone through the accelerated program at WHI. He shook the rain out of his hair.

"Good morning Lily," Marshall said. "How's Frank today?"

"Not well, not at all," Lily said as she frowned slightly. "Shanna contacted the Longbottoms and told them that Frank probably doesn't have much time."

"Man, that sucks," Marshall said as he began to flip through the charts from the night. He laughed lightly. "I see Alice is the same. Sad to say that maybe it's best that she's not totally clear as to what is happening to Frank."

"I was thinking the same thing last night," Lily said as she gathered her belongings.

"It's raining still," Marshall said as he nodded at her umbrella.

"Oh, thanks," Lily said grinning. She grabbed the umbrella leaning against the counter.

"You're welcome," he laughed. "I left mine here, too."

"It explains the rain," Lily teased lightly. "You will call me, won't you?"

"When Frank passes?" Marshall confirmed.

"Yes," Lily said.

"I will call, though I hope he doesn't go on my shift," Marshall said as he ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair. "I hate when the long timers pass on my shift."

"Paperwork?" Lily asked lightly. Marshall broke into a big grin.

"Yeah, well, you know I never did like that aspect of being a Healer," Marshall said shrugging. Lily rolled her eyes, laughing and nodded.

"Have a good day, Marsh," Lily said as she began to walk away.

"You too, Lils," he called in a laughing voice as he gathered his charts. She heard him say brightly, "Good morning, Miss Alice!"

* * *

Lily struggled with a brown paper sack of groceries, precariously balancing it on her knee as she struggled to keep Tina by her side. She shoved the door open, practically spilling the groceries and Tina raced into the apartment, running right over to the piano. The discordant sounds of many keys being mashed over and over filled the apartment. Lily grinned as she carried the groceries into the kitchen.

"That's beautiful, Tina," Lily told the girl as she began to unpack her groceries and put them away in the cupboards. She had picked Tina up at Kate's request since Albus was coming home and the two wanted a little couple time.

"Cookie," Tina said as she jumped off the bench and ran into the kitchen. Lily reached into the cookie jar she had just for Tina's visits.

"Don't tell your mum and dad," Lily told her as Tina took the cookie. The two of them had spent the better part of the morning together, and Lily knew that Kate would be by in a few hours to pick the child up.

Lily sat at the piano, Tina by her side, as she played. Occasionally Tina would mash a key with her chocolate covered fingers. Lily enjoyed spending time with her niece, playing the piano. The two of them usually got together once a week, though it was during the day when most normal people were at work. It helped Kate out, Tina and Lily played together, and Lily avoided the big family functions at her Dad's house.

The buzzer startled them both, Lily glancing at the clock. Lily flicked her wand to the door as she jumped up and grabbed Tina, hauling her into the kitchen. Lily deftly placed Tina on the counter and wetted a paper towel, cleaning Tina's face and hands as she heard movement in the living room.

"Lily?" a concerned Scorpius called out.

"In the kitchen," Lily called out in a sing-song way as she tossed the paper towel in the trashcan. Scorpius found her standing there, Tina on her hip while she poured a cup of apple juice for her niece.

"You shouldn't leave your door unlocked, and set it to open without you being on your guard, Lils," Scorpius told her as Lily placed Tina down with the spill proof cup. "Even if you are trying to avoid getting in trouble with Kate for allowing Tina to have chocolate chip cookies."

"How did you know?" Lily said frowning as she inspected the pristine Tina.

"You have a chocolate hand print about Tina's sized hand on your shirt," Scorpius smirked. Lily looked down and sure enough there was a hand print on her shirt. She laughed and pulled the shirt off, throwing it into her washing machine without a second thought. She grabbed a sweat shirt from the dryer and put it on, glancing at Scorpius.

"What?" she asked.

"I just never seem to get over how beautiful you are," Scorpius said grinning. Lily rolled her eyes but laughed.

"Good to know that you're not quite tired of me yet," Lily teased.

"Not quite," he smirked as he kissed her. Tina giggled loudly as she skidded into the room, holding up her empty, topless cup. Lily groaned and grabbed the paper towels, knowing that Tina had taken the top off and spilled it. Sure enough, there was a puddle of apple juice dripping off the coffee table and on to the carpet. Lily was in the middle of cleaning it up when Kate arrived, big as a house.

"Sippy cup crisis?" Kate asked. "Did you spank her?"

"No," Lily said as she tossed the soggy paper towel in the garbage.

"You should have," Kate told her as Scorpius carried Tina in to the living room. "Oh, hello Scorpius."

"You're looking lovely, Kate," Scorpius said as he placed Tina on the floor.

"Mummy!" Tina squealed. She wrapped her arms around Kate's legs.

"Did you have fun with Aunt Lily?" Kate asked.

"Uh-huh," Tina said nodding. She giggled and tried to climb up Scorpius.

"Dad wants you guys to come to dinner," Kate said. "Are you free, Scorpius?"

"I'd be delighted," Scorpius said. Lily groaned.

"It's not an accident you're here when Kate's picking up Tina, is it?" Lily accused. Kate and Scorpius looked at each other with intense innocent looks on their faces.

"Gee, Lily," Kate said.

"Paranoid much, love?" Scorpius asked as he slid his arm around her waist.

"So, you'll be there, yes?" Kate asked Lily. She grinned at Lily, scooping Tina up in her arms.

"Yes," Lily sighed. Kate cheered.

"Dad'll be so happy to hear," Kate said as she picked up Tina's bag. She sniffed the girl slightly and groaned. "You gave her a chocolate chip cookie, didn't you?"

"I cleaned it up off her," Lily said frowning. "How did you know?"

"Pregnancy makes my sense of smell more sensitive," Kate said. She laughed.

"Well, as Tina's aunt, I can spoil her," Lily said in defense. Kate laughed again as the phone rang. Lily rolled her eyes and went to pick up the phone.

"See you on Sunday," Kate said as she waved and left.

"Potter here," Lily said as she picked up the phone.

"Lily, hey, it's Marshall," the voice on the other end said.

"Hey, Marshall, what's up?" Lily asked as she began picking a few things Tina had taken out.

"I just wanted to let you know that Frank Longbottom passed away," Marshall said quietly. Lily froze for a moment. She had known it was coming, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. "Lils, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Lily said. "I just honestly didn't think it would be so soon."

"Me neither," Marshall said.

"Was he alone?" Lily asked.

"No, Neville and his family were here," Marshall said. Lily sighed.

"Well, that is good that they were there to say their good-byes," Lily said sadly.

"Are you ok? Do you want me to come by?" Marshall offered almost hopefully.

"No, that's ok," Lily said. "Scorpius is here with me."

"Good bye Marshall," Scorpius called loudly. Marshall groaned in to the phone.

"If you need anything, Lils, give me a call," Marshall said quickly before he hung up. Lily put the receiver down and looked at Scorpius, her hands on her hips.

"You know I don't like him much," Scorpius said.

"He's my coworker," Lily assured him.

"Yeah, but you are blind when it comes to when people really want to be more than just friends," Scorpius told her gently. "Or boyfriends."

"Huh?" Lily said quietly. Scorpius groaned but didn't push it.

"So, what did Healer Marshall Clocks want?" Scorpius said with a tone of attitude to his voice.

"He wanted to let me know that Frank Longbottom passed away," Lily said. Scorpius' face softened and he hugged her.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Lils. I know that has to be hard," Scorpius said as he held her tightly against him. He kissed the side of her neck. "I know we've not gotten to see each other enough, and it seems like we will get to spend more time with each other soon."

"Sure, sure," Lily said. "Like I've not heard that before."

"I mean it this time," Scorpius said. He grinned at her. "I could think of a way we'd never be apart."

"I am not joining the Aurors," Lily said as she shook her head.

"We could always get married," Scorpius said lightly. Lily rolled her eyes. She had heard that plenty of times, too.

"Why don't we go spend some more alone time in the room," Lily said grinning. She kissed him slightly.

"Are there more of those to come?" Scorpius asked smirking as Lily pulled away from him slightly. She began to walk towards the bedroom.

"Why don't you come and find out," Lily taunted with a grin.

* * *

Lily and Scorpius headed into the house, Lily more reluctantly than Scorpius and he practically had to drag her by her hand. The house was loud, full of people. James threw his arms around Lily at once, thrilled to see his baby sister after rarely seeing her. They never crossed paths, even living in the same building. Lily rolled her eyes when her dad hugged her. They all sat down to eat dinner, James' son and Albus' daughter sitting in their high chairs.

"So, Scorpius, when are you going to make an honest woman of my sister?" Albus teased. Lily started coughing.

"Smooth Al, nice," Scorpius said smirking as he patted Lily on the back.

"Yeah, you know Lily has no intention of ever getting saddled with anyone," James taunted. Lily threw a roll at her brother, it bouncing of his head. Tina and Petri laughed hysterically, spraying food.

"Way to go, Lily," Kate grumbled as Tina threw her roll at Petri.

"So, you guys are having a boy?" Lily asked Kate, changing the subject.

"A girl, actually," Albus said as he continued to eat. He looked back at Lily. "So, really, Lily. We know that Scorpius has asked you a few times, why do you keep denying us a chance at him for a brother in law?"

"That's rather personal," Lily said shrugging. The others looked at her, expectantly. Lily rolled her eyes. "You guys know, I am not family material."

"We're not talking about starting a family," Harry said quietly. "You and Scorpius love each other, don't you?"

"Dad, this isn't exactly the time or place to talk about this," Lily said blushing furiously. She glanced at Scorpius, frowning. He sighed so that only she could hear him.

"I hate to do this, but Lily and I have to meet with Madame Fuchsine in a bit," Scorpius said as he glanced at his watch. "I didn't realize how late it had gotten."

"Oh, yeah, no problem," Harry said as Lily had started to clear her plate from the table. He stood and hugged Lily before she put her jacket on. "You guys will come back again, right?"

"Sure, Dad," Lily said unconvincingly. Harry looked at Scorpius.

"Yeah, no problem, Dad," Scorpius said as he took Lily's hand. The two of them left the house in a hurry.

"I can't believe that they did that to us," Lily snarled as she slammed her keys down on the counter of the kitchen.

"Lily, don't be mad at them," Scorpius said quietly. "They just don't understand how I could have asked you to marry me so many times and still, you say no. I mean, we're in love aren't we?"

"Of course we are," Lily said as she looked at him.

"But not enough to get married?" Scorpius said lightly.

"I told you that I'm not marriage material," Lily sighed. Scorpius nodded.

"Yeah, you did tell me that," he said as his fingers touched her face. "I can still dream. Hope."

"You dream about marriage?" Lily asked as he linked his fingers with hers. He traced her finger lightly with his, drawing an imaginary ring on her finger.

"I dream about it, yeah," Scorpius said. "I hope to change your mind. The idea of waking up next to you for the rest of my life excites me."

"We wake up next to each other most mornings as it is, the ones where we're both not busy or working or whatever," Lily said. Scorpius pulled her by her hand toward the bedroom.

"Still, it'd be nice to call you Mrs. Malfoy," Scorpius breathed in her ear.

"Keep dreaming," Lily laughed. Scorpius rolled his eyes and closed the bedroom door behind them.


	36. Two Lines

A/N: Oh. The next couple of chapters are possibly going to bother some people, just be forewarned. This chapter is much shorter, but I am trying to make sure that everything is in place. Also, so you all know, I am NOT a fan of Lily over the next two chapters. I think she is being cruel, stubborn, and stupid. Damn her and her stubborn ways. (sighs)

Disc.: Standard "I didn't create it" blanket statement.

* * *

**Two Lines**

Lily frowned as she looked at the calendar. She groaned and shook her head, burying her face into her hands. She had no doubt in her mind. It was perfectly ill timing for Lily, no matter how she worked it. It was still a bit of time before Marshall came and relieved her. She had done her paperwork and rounds, glancing at the calendar from time to time, the numbers glaring at her as if mocking her. She felt a bit of dread and panic welling up inside her. She took a deep breath.

"Easy, Lily," Lily said aloud to herself. "You don't know anything."

"I don't think I can agree with that, Lils," Marshall said as he leaned against the desk. Lily looked up from her hands. "I think you know plenty."

"Thanks, Marshall," Lily said smiling slightly. His words were eerily true. She frowned slightly at the thought. He didn't know it, but he was positively right.

"So, are you and Scorpius hanging out this weekend?" Marshall asked.

"No, he's off on some training thing," Lily said crossing her arms. "Supposedly."

"You act like you don't believe him," Marshall said. Lily sighed.

"I believe him, it's just…" Lily said. She leaned back further, looking at her coworker. "Everyone keeps pressuring me, wanting to know why I've not accepted his proposal."

"For marriage?" Marshall said in surprise.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"And you keep telling him no?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah," Lily said.

"Well, it works out better for me that you say no," Marshall said grinning. "Means I still have a chance."

"Please, you don't have a chance," Lily laughed. Marshall laughed with her.

"Well, know I am waiting if you decide to ditch the Auror," Marshall teased as Lily gathered her things.

"I don't see me ditching the Auror," Lily said. Marshall shrugged.

"Well, then, if he ditches you," Marshall said. Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very funny. Good bye, Marsh," Lily said as she glanced at the calendar one last time before she left St. Mungo's. Lily walked along the street, her face cold as she looked into the muggle shops until she came to the pharmacy. She hesitated before she pushed her way into the store. She grabbed a hand basket and walked along the aisles, picking up a few things here or there. She stopped and looked at the shelf, her eyes traveling along all of the similar looking boxes, the pictures serene. She supposed for some, the idea was serene, but Lily saw it with dread. Her cell phone rang.

"Lily, hey! You and I are still going shopping, right?" Rose asked. Lily laughed.

"Yeah, you near the apartment?" Lily asked.

"Nah, Rose said. "Morning sickness has kept me close to home for breakfast, but I am feeling so much better. I'll be there in about ten or so minutes."

"I'll be there," Lily said.

"You're not at home?" Rose asked.

"I had to stop off on my way. I'll be there in a bit," Lily assured her as she grabbed one of the boxes off the shelf and shoved it in her basket.

"Ooh, are you at a store? What are you getting?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Oh, just the usual, shampoo and what not," Lily said as the cashier began to ring up her purchases. Lily swiped her muggle ATM card and gathered her purchases.

"Good luck, hope you get the results you want," the clerk said as Lily took her receipt.

"Well, I'll meet you at your apartment there in a minute or two, then," Rose said. Lily grabbed her bag and rushed back home. She dumped the bag on the counter in her bathroom at home, not even bothering to close the bathroom door. She ripped open the box. She hesitated. She paused. She followed the directions to the T. She waited the requested three minutes. Lily struggled the 'fight or flight' feeling and peeked, clear as day it stared at her in the face.

The results seized her around the heart, threatening to consume her.

"Lily? Are you home yet?" Rose called as she used her key to get into Lily's apartment. Lily looked up at the sound of her name, unable to speak. Rose headed towards the bathroom. "Lily?"

"Y-yeah," Lily breathed. She forced her voice to be a little louder. "I'll be out in just a moment."

"Ready to go shopping?" Rose asked cheerfully as Lily tucked something in her purse.

"Sure," Lily said as the two women left the house. "So, what are you in the market for?"

"Oh, I want to go ahead and register for my baby shower," Rose said. "Being four months along, my mum says it's safe to now."

"B-baby shopping?" Lily stammered.

"Yeah, you don't mind do you?" Rose asked for a moment. Lily shook her head.

"It's fine. You've got to be easier to shop with than Kate," Lily said. Rose laughed.

"I can't guarantee that," Rose smirked as they entered a children's store. Lily looked around wide eyed.

"Wow," Lily said.

"Babies are big business," Rose said. Lily nodded. "Oh! Look at this little sailor suit!"

"I thought that you recently found out that you were having a girl," Lily said. Rose nodded.

"I am," Rose said as she squealed as she grabbed a lacy, ruffle-trimmed pink and white dress. "Look at this."

"It's pretty," Lily admitted.

"Awe, look at these itty, bitty socks!" Rose said after an hour or two of shopping and registering for her baby shower. Lily forced a smile.

"They are small," Lily admitted.

"I'm sorry that this isn't more fun for you," Rose said. Lily shook her head.

"No, this is fine. It's enlightening, really," Lily said quietly as she focused on an insanely small shirt. "Babies really come this small?"

"Smaller," Rose laughed as she took her younger cousin by the hand and lead her to the preemie section. "See, these are preemie clothes. Look how small this shirt is. Looks like it should fit on a doll. Or a cat."

"Could you imagine me putting this on Skye?" Lily asked thinking about her cat.

"You and your cat," Rose laughed.

"So, have you thought of a name for the baby?" Lily asked.

"Billy thinks Tabitha, I want Grace," Rose said. Lily grinned.

"Tabitha Grace, it's beautiful," Lily offered. Rose smiled back.

"Like that, it's great," Rose said. "Kind of sucks that they've put me on a desk job while I'm pregnant, but it's not like I can go on miss- _er_, well. I don't like a desk job."

"Understandable," Lily said nodding as she ignored Rose's slip up. Rose paid for her few purchases, shrugging, before the two headed to a coffee shop.

"Can I ask you something?" Rose asked quietly. Lily looked up at her, sipping her double espresso.

"Sure," Lily said.

"What is the deal with you and Scorpius? I know you say you love him, and lord knows we know he loves you the way he goes on and on about you when you two go more than a few days seeing each other, but you have been proposed to about a million times and still, you insist on remaining nothing more than you are," Rose said carefully. "Aren't you afraid that he's going to get tired of waiting for you to say yes to marry him?"

"If he does, then we weren't meant to get married," Lily said. "I'm not even twenty one."

"I agree, there is no rush, but it's kind of unheard of to be his age and an Auror, and not be married," Rose said quietly. "In our line of work, there is a big risk of there not being a tomorrow."

"Shh," Lily hushed her in a teasing manner. "You know, you guys have a code of silence. Thanks to the new Ministry."

"It used to be more lax, Lily, but then a lot of people died because secrets were leaked," Rose said quietly.

"I know," Lily murmured. She touched the zipper of her purse, thinking.

"You seem distracted today," Rose said.

"I just don't want to rush things," Lily said as she sipped her drink again.

"There's no rush, soon," Rose promised. Lily looked up, her head cocked to the side.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. Rose shook her head and Lily knew that Rose could say no more.

"Look, Lily. No one is going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, but married life isn't that bad. Your parents had a wonderful marriage, as do my parents, sort of," Rose said smirking.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone? Not even Billy?" Lily asked hesitantly. Rose frowned.

"I can't keep secrets from Billy, Lily," Rose said. "Husbands and wives shouldn't have secrets, and I can't keep a secret from him."

"Ok, can you have him not mention it then?" Lily asked. Rose nodded.

"Sure," Rose said.

"I took a test today," Lily said quietly as her fingers traced the zipper. "I think I failed."

"Well, there's always next time," Rose said reassuring. Lily shook her head, her hands trembling as she pulled a stick from her purse. She squeezed it tightly in her hand before she pushed it across the table toward Rose.

"It has two lines," Lily said. "I don't think I'll get another chance."

"Oh," Rose said making a face as she looked at it. Her eyes got wide. "You?"

"Yeah," Lily said closing her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Did you tell Scorpius?" Rose asked. Lily looked up at her skeptically.

"I just took the test today. I picked it up on my way home," Lily said making a face.

"Wow," Rose said as she stared at the spot the test had been. She hadn't even been aware of Lily removing it and placing it back in her purse.

"Yeah," Lily mumbled as she refused to look up.

"You know, it's not going to be so bad," Rose promised. Lily looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.

"What's not?" Lily asked.

"This whole thing," Rose said as she patted Lily's hand.

"This is not what I want," Lily cried. Rose glanced around as a few people looked their way.

"Shh, honey, it's going to be ok," Rose said. "You're going to make a great mother. You and Scorpius will get married and have this baby and raise it."

"It's not what I want," Lily begged. She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I read about this place, a muggle medical clinic, back when I was doing my studies. I think… I think I want to go there."

"No, Lily," Rose breathed as her own tears spilled over her cheeks. She knew exactly what Lily was planning, what she was mentioning and it made her hurt to even think about her cousin doing that.

"I never wanted to be a mother, Rose," Lily said quietly.

"There has to be another way," Rose begged Lily.

"Yeah, let me go back a few weeks and abstain," Lily growled. Rose shook her head.

"I can't keep something like that a secret," Rose said. Her voice turned pleading as she grabbed Lily's hand tightly. "My morals alone won't let me. Please, talk to Scorpius about it. Think about it. Sleep on it. Please, Lily, there _has_ to be another way."

"Rose," Lily said shaking her head as she stood up. Her tears blurred her vision.

"I will tell," Rose threatened with her own tears. "You can't do this."

"It's my body, my life," Lily snapped in a sob. Lily jerked away, gathering her purse.

"Your body, but it's not your life, Lily. It's not yours to decide," Rose wailed. Lily turned and fled the coffee shop. She wandered around a bit in the cold, deep in her thoughts. She stopped and dialed her cell phone voicemail. She had a few random messages; none of them sounding like it was out of the ordinary. Lily headed home, half expecting Rose to be there to berate her for her decision.

"Lily, hey," Scorpius said casually as Lily walked in the front door of the apartment. She jumped, surprised.

"Oh, hey," Lily said as she placed her keys and her purse on the table.

"How was shopping with Rose?" he asked. Lily shrugged.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she said. "Lots of really small clothes."

"I'd imagine so," Scorpius said laughing. He nodded to a covered plate. "I made your favorite: baked chicken and green beans."

"Thanks," Lily said. She walked across the room, tired. Flopping down on the couch, she took the top off and took a few bites before pushing the plate away.

"You ok?" he asked quietly. Lily nodded then shook her head.

"I'm tired," Lily said. Scorpius pulled her up off the couch and led her to the bedroom.

"Do you have to work tonight?" he asked. Lily laughed.

"You know I don't," Lily said as she took off her clothes and pulled on her night shirt. She climbed into the bed with him. She was suddenly exhausted.

"I have three days off, too," Scorpius whispered in her ear as his hand touched her hip. "How about we stay in bed all three days?"

"Hmm," Lily murmured. She felt his hands on her body and she fought not to tense.

"Something wrong?" Scorpius asked.

"No," Lily lied. "I'm just really tired."

"You don't have to do anything," he promised and she laughed. "I'll just rub your back and pamper you."

"Yeah," Lily laughed. "I bet nothing will happen."

"Oh, I can't promise that," he teased. He pressed his mouth to her ear. "I love you with every breath I take."

"I know," Lily said.

"I never want to lose you," he said. He didn't let her reply, instead he kissed her deeply.

* * *

The phone annoyingly woke Lily, her hand closed on the receiver and she put the ear piece to her ear. She mumbled a greeting, not caring that she sounded half asleep. She hadn't checked the caller ID, but she had a good idea who it was. The same person called her every morning since she had shared her test results and her plan.

"Lily," Rose said stuffily into the phone. "I want to talk to you some more. You've not done anything yet, have you?"

"No," Lily said quietly as she felt Scorpius stirring behind her. His arms were wrapped around her, his hands crossed over body. "Look, Rose, now's not a good time."

"Is Scorpius there?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," Lily said.

"Have you told him yet?" Rose said even more hopefully.

"No, and I don't plan on it," Lily yawned into the phone.

"Lily, before you do anything, let me take you somewhere," Rose pleaded quietly. "Give me a weekend, this weekend, and if you still want to I'll drive you there myself."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily said brightly as Scorpius palm pressed against her flesh.

"You really want to end this? It would kill Scorpius if he knew," Rose said sadly. Lily paused and she could practically hear Rose's smile of victory. "I just need to you to pause and think."

"Pause and think, got it," Lily said. "See you on Friday."

"Friday," Rose said quietly.

"Shopping with Rose on Friday?" Scorpius murmured.

"Yeah, something like that," Lily mumbled as she hung up the phone. She looked at him, his eyes were warm as he gazed at her. She felt a stab of guilt in her chest. She took a deep breath, clearing her mind. "I love you, Score."

"I love you too, Lils," Scorpius said.


	37. Twenty Nine Weeks

**A/N:** Keep reading. Voting polls will be down in a few days. If you haven't already, get your vote in. At the end of this chapter, you should know what you are voting for if you haven't figured it out already. Also, it (this chapter) is graphic and emotional, and I cry every time I read it, so be warned.

**Disc.:** Standard blanket statement on non-creationism.

* * *

**Twenty Nine Weeks **

Lily was quiet as she dressed, her eyes not focusing on Scorpius who was still tucked into her bed. She knew his eyes were on her, examining her suspiciously. She silently wondered how long he had been looking at her that way. Her eyes looked up finally, meeting his.

"What?" Lily asked as she discarded a second pair of jeans that seemed a bit too snug. It was already beginning; the clothes were feeling too tight below her belly button.

"Um," Scorpius said shaking his head slowly.

"What?" Lily said as she snatched a wool dress, jerking it over her head and sliding up knit stocking over her knees.

"You look different," he said quietly as if he was trying to put together the pieces to a puzzle. Lily looked at him in surprise. She hadn't been aware that she looked any different.

"I need to get some color," Lily said dismissively as she pulled her hair up in a tie.

"I don't think it's that," Scorpius said. "In fact, your cheeks are quite rosy."

"Huh," Lily said as she gathered her purse. "So, I work Monday night until Thursday night. Do you have Friday off?"

"No," Scorpius said quietly as he continued to look at her.

"Will you call me?" she asked. Scorpius nodded and smiled slightly.

"Don't I always?" he asked. Lily hesitated and nodded.

"Yeah," Lily agreed.

"If you had a problem, you'd come to me, wouldn't you?" he asked. Lily hesitated. "Even if it was something you knew I didn't want to hear."

"I… yeah," Lily said as she looked at him. She forced a smile. "See you in a few days."

"Love you, Lils," he called as Lily left. She didn't respond.

"You look a bit guilty," Rose commented as Lily slid into the passenger seat of Rose's car.

"Shut it," Lily said quietly. Rose grunted quietly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Rose asked.

"No," Lily said.

"How's the morning sickness?" Rose asked. Lily shook her head.

"I've not had any," Lily said.

"That's good," Rose said. Lily shrugged, facing forward. Rose sighed. "Tabby is moving around a lot, though Billy's yet to feel it. It's the most amazing feeling ever. We've felt Kate's belly, but feeling it inside you is so different."

"Hmph," Lily grunted as she continued to stare out the windshield.

"So, the place I want to take you is to St. Mary's Hospital," Rose said. "Specifically the maternity ward there. They have a nursery where they keep the little babies."

"Ok," Lily said quietly as Rose pulled the car into the parking deck.

"I have a friend names Lisa who is going to give us a tour," Rose said quietly. "She's a head technologist and I told her that you were pregnant."

"Not for long," Lily said quietly. Rose made a face.

"You said that you'd give me the weekend, Lily, and I am certain that I won't need it. I think after this visit, you'll change your tune," Rose said. "I want nothing more than to convince you otherwise."

"I know, and I appreciate it, Rose, I do, but I doubt that looking at little newly born babies is going to change my mind," Lily said. "I treat little babies occasionally when I have to cover the magical emergency department down at St. Mungo's. I never wanted to be a mum, and looking at babies won't change that."

"Maybe, maybe not," Rose said wisely.

"Let's get this over with," Lily said as she pushed the car door open. She looked a Rose. "You sure that you should be running around in your condition?"

"Me? I'm fine," Rose said. "It's funny, you're concerned for my well being, and Tabby's well being, but you have no concern for your baby."

"I'm not having a baby," Lily reminded her. Rose sighed and shook her head.

"Whether you want to believe it or not, Lily, you are having a baby," Rose said firmly. "Whether or not you continue the pregnancy, it is still a baby."

"Answer this, Rose. If the thing was endangering my life, would you feel the same? Would it matter if it was killing me and every second I carried it, it was killing me?" Lily asked. Rose looked at her.

"That's different," Rose said.

"No, it's not. It's not killing my literal life, but it is killing my life none the less," Lily said shaking her head as she opened the door to the hospital. "I can't think of it any other way."

"It's a baby, Lily," Rose said.

"I can't think of it that way," Lily said. Rose sighed and led the way to the maternity ward. Rose introduced Lily to a motherly like woman named Lisa. She was pretty, even in her advanced age. The women shook hands, Lily and Lisa, and then Lisa placed her hand on Rose's stomach and smiled.

"Lily, let me say that you are not the first woman whom has thought that they only had one option in life," Lisa said calmly. "I'm not going to push my philosophies down your throat like your dear cousin."

"I only do it because I love you," Rose piped up from behind the woman.

"Indeed," Lisa said. "I have worked as a Nurse Midwife for thirty years, and I really have seen it all. There is nothing scarier than having a child."

"Well, that's helpful," Lily said glancing at Rose.

"It's the truth," Lisa told Lily. The three walked down a hallway where women behind the wooden doors were screaming and delivering. The sound was chaotic, pained, and Lily felt her resolve more certain than ever that she could not be a mother.

"This is the room the babies come right after they are born," Lisa said in a quiet voice. She slid her card through a card reader and the door released. Lily and Rose followed her to the small darkened room. There were a few bassinets with tiny pink faced babies.

"I appreciate the cuteness of a baby, but it's not going to sway my decision," Lily informed her. "I have a niece and a nephew, so I know how sweet and darling babies can be. It's just not something I want for myself."

"Ok," Lisa said smiling. She led them out and to an elevator that took them down three floors. "This may be a little more swaying."

"I doubt it, but I gave Rose my word that I'd keep an open mind," Lily said as she glanced back at Rose. Rose nodded wordlessly as tears brimmed in her eyes. She knew she was losing the fight. Lily was set in her ways.

"This is our procedure ward," Lisa said quietly. "Depending on how far along you are, depends on the method that would be used by our technicians. I brought you here to see the other route that your baby could end up. You saw the pink, happy babies in the nursery, freshly born. This is the grim fate for babies that were never born."

Lisa pushed open a door where the bright lights reminded Lily of an operating room or a sterile lab. There was a bit of blood on the floor, bright red. Lily glanced back to see Rose had not followed her. Lily was on her own with this. Lisa donned a pair of gloves, giving a set of gloves to Lily. Lily put them on and followed Lisa to where a big bucket was.

"How far along are you?" Lisa asked. "Estimate."

"A few weeks, probably," Lily said. Lisa pulled the first bucket forward for Lily to see.

"These are the parts of babies terminated before the ever had a chance to make it out of their first trimester. Lily looked down at the bucket, warily. At first it looked like a bunch of bloody goo. "Go ahead, look carefully and you will see that these babies had feet and hands, heads and hearts. Smaller than sin, they were fully formed babies."

"I…" Lily trailed off as Lisa held up her hand for Lily to see.

"This baby was nine weeks along," Lisa said quietly. "His mother decided that he wasn't something she could have in her life."

"It's a he?" Lily asked. Lisa looked down, her face sad.

"It's dead, so its gender doesn't matter," Lisa said quietly. "This child had potential. It could have been the person to cure great disease, or to be an artist or musician. Instead, it will be incinerated."

"Oh…" Lily said with great hesitation. Lisa placed it back in the vat of parts and pieces.

"We do about 100 of these a week, as the biggest woman's health centers in the region. I see women all of the time who come in here, thinking that this is the only option that those mothers have," Lisa said quietly. She took off her gloves and threw them away. Lily followed suite, washing her hands and following Lisa out of the room. Rose was crying into her hands, mourning the loss of the babies she knew had lost their lives in that room.

"Rose, are you ok?" Lily asked in great concern.

"I'm just scared for you, Lily," Rose whispered.

"We have one last stop to make," Lisa said quietly as she led the two women away from the room and to another room. It was small and dark.

"What is this room?" Lily asked quietly.

"I'm going to take a peek inside you using this special tool," Lisa said. "Here's a gown."

"Do you want me to step out?" Rose asked quietly.

"No, why would I?" Lily asked. "It's not like you've not seen me undressed before."

"I was thinking more of the fact that if you get this ultrasound and still decide to end it, I don't think I could stand it," Rose said as she rubbed her stomach protectively.

"Look, Rose," Lily said as she climbed up on the bed, draping the sheet over her legs. "I admit, seeing the after effect was pretty heart wrenching, but I can't be a mother. I can't do this."

"Ready?" Lisa asked as she reentered before Rose could reply.

"Yes," Lily said. She put her head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling while Lisa adjusted the machine and dealt with the probe.

"Ok," Lisa said quietly. "Do you want to see or hear while I am doing the measurements?"

"I don't care," Lily said as she stared at the ceiling. Lisa looked at Rose and Rose nodded. The monitor was positioned that Lily could look should she want to.

"Well, dear," Lisa said quietly as she did her first measurements. "You are a little further along than I would have guessed. When was your last period?"

"About three weeks ago," Lily said.

"And the one before that was it lighter than usual?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Lily asked.

"What about the one before that?" Lisa asked. Lily nodded slowly, looking at the woman.

"You are about eleven weeks along," Lisa said. "Your baby is about the size of a large lime." Lisa did a few more adjustments, the sound of paper printing in a hushed way. A sound filled the room, though the volume was quiet.

"What's that sound?" Lily asked as the room filled with the quiet sound of a heartbeat. It was quick, rhythmic. Her eyes hesitated to look at the screen and focused on Rose, who was smiling, her eyes closed.

"That's your baby's heart beat, Lily," Rose whispered as she listened. "Yours and Scorpius' baby."

"I… I can't be a mum," Lily said weakly.

"Your baby is sucking its thumb," Lisa said. Lily's eyes snapped to the screen and her eyes opened wide, tears filling in them. There in black in white, clear as day was a baby. Its fist was in its mouth and it was sucking its thumb, undeniably. Rose had moved to Lily's side, taking Lily's hand. Rose squeezed it.

"You know, it's going to be ok, Lily," Lisa said quietly. "No one is going to judge you with whatever your decision is, but you needed to know all the aspects of this."

"It looks like a baby," Lily murmured.

"I bet she or he would be a great piano player," Rose whispered. "Look how long its fingers are. You think you love Tina or Petri? The love you have for your own child trumps all loves that come before it. Your love for Scorpius, the love for your own life… it all changes Lily, but it doesn't have to mean you lose yourself."

"That's… that's my baby," Lily whispered as Rose dabbed a tissue at her eyes.

"Would you like to take some pictures with you? Go home, mull it over, and then make a decision after?" Lisa asked gently. "You still have plenty of time. Eleven weeks isn't that long."

"Please," Lily said as she got dressed. Lisa smiled and handed her the whole strip of photos she had printed. Lily stared at them, her ears already aching to hear the heartbeat again. "Is it normal to want to hear the baby's heartbeat again?"

"Yes," Rose said as she threw her arms around Lily gently. Rose had a huge grin on her face.

"Don't smile at me like that," Lily said weakly. "I've not made my decision yet."

"Yeah, you have," Rose said crying with a giant smile on her face. "I already know it, even if you haven't allowed your mind to wrap around it. You love him or her. You love your baby and you know it."

"I have to think," Lily said as she and Rose left the hospital. Rose drove Lily straight home, the day had already escaped them. Lily left her cousin smiling at her like a fool and Lily headed straight up to her room, undressing completely until she was down to her panties and a camisole. She looked up at the ceiling, her hands on the undeniable bulge. She closed her eyes and all she could see was her baby sucking her thumb. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks.

She couldn't do it, but it was a new_ it_ that she couldn't do. Before, she was certain that she couldn't be a mother. Now she was certain that she couldn't _NOT_ be a mother. This was her and Scorpius' baby growing inside her. Her and his son or daughter, growing and sucking its thumb. Lily closed her eyes tight, and all she could see was her baby sucking its thumb. Lily rolled to her side and picked up the phone. She dialed Rose's number, Rose picking up after the second ring.

"Lily," Rose said quietly.

"I can't do it, Rose," Lily breathed. Rose's heart stopped.

"Please, Lily," Rose begged.

"Rose, I can't kill it, my child," Lily cried softly into the phone. "Seeing it suck its thumb, I see it every time I close my eyes Rose. What am I supposed to tell Scorpius?"

"The truth, Lily," Rose said breathing again. Her words betrayed her smile. "He loves you and will do whatever you need for him to do."

"I'm scared," Lily said.

"Everything's going to work out ok, Lily," Rose said happily. "You're going to be a mum."

"I'm not even married," Lily said.

"Scorpius can help you with that," Rose said. "But, you don't have to be married to be a mum. That perfect little baby in your belly makes you a mum."


	38. Over

**A/N:** So, yeah. I wasn't a fan of Lily's until she made the right decision for her, and thankful the right decision didn't end her chances at experiencing motherhood first hand. I know it was a sensitive subject, and I don't/didn't mean to offend, but like I have said before, you start writing these characters and they tend to head off in their own direction. The poll is closed, though not officially. If I close it officially, then you'd know what the sex of the baby will be. (insert evil, all-knowing laugh). I assume you guys have since figured out that is what you were naming. If I close the poll, you'll know which name won (and by what percentage). Oh, and trust me on this chapter. It didn't go as I had planned (I blame Scorpius this time) but you know… it will hopefully work out. Oh, and I am trying to reply to everyone, so bear with me. I will get to all of you. Thanks for the reviews!

**Disc.:** Standard "I didn't create the universe" statement.

* * *

**Over**

* * *

Lily stepped into her apartment, struggling with another paper sack full of groceries. She was feeling a bit queasy at the moment but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The past couple of days had been plagued with the icky feelings. It was as if the minute she confirmed it in her mind that she was keeping this child, _her child_, she had doubled up on the pregnancy symptoms. She had yet to tell Scorpius, but she knew he'd be home tonight, and tonight was as good as night as any.

Still, Lily felt nervous. Insanely nervous, because it was one thing to have him say that he wanted marriage, a completely different thing for her to tell him that he was going to be a father. She groaned. For him to be a father, it meant that she was going to be a mother. She hadn't said it aloud, not once, not even to Rose. To say it aloud made it completely real and undeniable. Everything else, she could ignore. The morning sickness? _Bad Chinese the night before_. The achy back? _Lifting the crates of milk cartons to the top of the cart before handing them out_. That bulge that seemed to be making her clothes tighter by leaps and bounds? _Just a little bit of water weight, a bit of bloating_.

"Lily Luna Potter," Scorpius said coldly as she walked into the kitchen. He was sitting at her dining room table with a few things spread out in front of him. His fingers were in the shape of a triangle. Lily had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him there. He startled her.

"Hey, Score," Lily said breathlessly as she shifted the bag onto the counter. "I thought that you weren't coming over until later."

"I got off early and let myself in," he said coolly. Lily began unpacking the bag.

"I was thinking I'd order in something," Lily said as she placed the carton of milk in the refrigerator.

"How can you eat?" Scorpius asked in an almost animalistic growl. Lily's head snapped up to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. He laughed bitterly and gestured to the pile of stuff that she had previously ignored. Random scraps of paper and various other things were ignored. All Lily's eyes could focus on was the pregnancy test she had taken and the ultrasound picture.

"What, did you think I was too stupid to figure it out?" Scorpius said coldly.

"I… I was going to tell you about it tonight," Lily said. He laughed bitterly, almost disbelieving.

"Yeah, and I'm supposed to believe that," Scorpius said. Ice dripped from his every word.

"I was, honest. I didn't think you'd react this way," Lily said. Scorpius slammed his fist down on the table, causing Lily to jump and drop a can of vegetables onto the tile floor.

"You didn't think I'd react this way? How'd you think I'd react, Lily? Surely you can't believe that I'd be ok with it," Scorpius growled. "I loved you. I trusted you."

"I didn't mean…"

"I don't want to hear it anymore, Lily. I'm tired of the excuses, and this is just… _inexcusable_," Scorpius snarled as he stood. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and threw it on the table.

"Scorpius," Lily protested.

"Look, that's enough money for you to find a new place and then some," Scorpius said. "It should take care of everything. I'm leaving for a few months. I expect you to be gone. I just can't believe that you'd actually… no, I won't say it. I've had enough, Lily. You went too far this time."

"Scorpius, please, let me explain," Lily begged. He scooped up the things he had laid out in front of him.

"I don't want to hear it, Lily," he snapped.

"You shouldn't have gone through my stuff," Lily snapped back, suddenly very angry. He threw it back on the table angrily. Anger flashed in his eyes and his nose flared as he breathed hard.

"You left it on the table in your front hall," Scorpius roared. "A blind man could have found it."

"I was going to tell you tonight," Lily shrieked at him. "You never gave me a chance."

"Why should I believe a word you say? You said you loved me, and this is what love gets me?" Scorpius hollered. "A positive pregnancy test and some blurry black and white photo. Thanks, Lily. Really. You've absolved any stupid notion that I should ever want to get married. I can never forgive you for this." Scorpius swung the door open to the apartment.

"Where are you going?" Lily cried out.

"It's none of your business anymore. I don't want anything more to do with you," Scorpius shouted at her angrily. He waved the ultrasound picture in the air. "And I'm taking this as a reminder that girls, especially girls like you Lily Potter, are cruel, selfish, hateful bitches."

"Scorpius!" Lily cried out as he apparated. Lily slumped against the door frame, tears stinging in her eyes. She felt like her heart was shattering, breaking into a million pieces. She sobbed loudly, knowing good and well no one would come and wipe her tears. After a few minutes, she gathered herself up off the floor and closed the front door. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, grinding away the tears.

Lily wanted nothing more to do than to crawl into bed and let death come. She had never, not once in a million years, expected Scorpius to react that way. He had always claimed he wanted marriage, she assumed family went along with that, though it was obvious now that wasn't Scorpius' plan. Lily glanced to where he had sat at her table, waiting for her. She jerked the papers up off the table and angrily shoved them into the waste paper basket.

Unloading the rest of her groceries was a nosier than needed event. Lily slammed cabinets, slammed cans, and generally threw a temper tantrum. She glanced at the envelope, angrily snatching it up off the table. She threw it in the waste paper basket, screaming obscenities at it. She kicked it, denting the metal can and stubbing her toe at the same time, making her even angrier.

"I knew I shouldn't have believed him! Counted on him!" Lily shrieked at the empty paper sack. She balled the paper up and threw it in the now dented metal can. She forced some more of her tears from her eyes. She sighed and picked the envelope out of the trash, tossing it back on the counter. She heard a knock on her door and for a moment, she her heart was thrumming in her chest. Hope welled up but was quickly dashed when she opened the door to see Rose standing there with a wheeled suitcase.

"Lily, don't look so disappointed to see me," Rose teased. Lily's lip quivered and she burst into tears. Rose tossed the suitcase aside as she threw her arms around Lily. "Oh, Lily! What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"No!" Lily sobbed. "Scorpius found out that… I… and he-he ended it with me. He wants me to move out."

"Oh, honey," Rose said. "Maybe he was just in shock?"

"No," Lily said as she shook her head. "He was very calm and then very pissed. It's over."

"You can stay with me," Rose told Lily. Lily shook her head. "Well, your dad's place is full. Where will you go?"

"I don't know," Lily moaned as she sat down on the couch. She covered her face with her hands. "I have a month or so. He'll be back from whatever he's going off to do in a month or so."

"You don't have to leave," Rose told her.

"Yeah, I do," Lily said. "I know he gave this place to me, but maybe we were fooling ourselves thinking that Malfoys and Potters can really be friends, forget lovers."

"Lily," Rose said. Lily looked up from her hands.

"I'll be ok, Rose, eventually," Lily said. She looked to the suitcase that Rose had brought with her. "What's in the suitcase?" Rose sensed that Lily was done talking about it, and eagerly allowed Lily to change the subject.

"Business attire. I'm a little taller than you, but you should still be able to fit these maternity clothes," Rose said. Lily raised an eyebrow at Rose. Rose chuckled. "You're barely fitting into your clothes. I don't think I've seen you wear as many stretchy dresses as I have recently. And it's starting to get cooler, so I know you'll want to wear pants when the snow comes."

"The damn BALL!" Lily howled all of a sudden.

"What of it?" Rose asked.

"Who am I going to go with now? I just always assumed that Scorpius and I would go together. I can't go alone. Not like this," Lily cried.

"I'd loan you out Billy, but I doubt he'd want to go," Rose offered. Lily shook her head.

"I'll think of something," Lily groaned. She grabbed a tissue and blotted at her face. "I should have known that Scorpius wouldn't want to start a family with me. I should have gone ahead and ignored you. Instead it's too late. I am in love with my child and now get to raise it all on my own."

"Please, Lily," Rose said. "When have you ever been all on your own? You have your dad, and brothers, and us, and everyone! So Scorpius is a prick and dumped you. Yeah, you're having his child without him. But don't think for a moment that you are alone in this."

"I just don't understand," Lily confessed as she covered her eyes again with her hands. "I thought I was doing the right thing, keeping my baby."

"You are," Rose assured Lily as she patted her shoulder.

"I just wish it was easier," Lily said as she looked at her very round cousin.

"When has life ever been easy for you?" Rose said comfortingly. "Now, let see how you look in real maternity clothes."

"Ugh, I am not your Pregnant Time Barbie, Rose," Lily protested.

"Very funny," Rose said sarcastically smiling. "If I hadn't seen for myself the ultrasound, I'd swear you were having twins. You're awfully showy."

"Great, now not only am I have the bastard child of Malfoy, it's a giant," Lily said rolling her eyes. Rose laughed and nodded to the bedroom.

"So, Lily? When are you going to tell your dad?" Rose asked casually as Lily tried on one of the many cute maternity outfits Rose had already outgrown.

"Ah… _soon_?" Lily said uncertainly as she stepped out of the bedroom wearing a top and bottom set. Rose grinned.

"Wow, you're really showing," Rose commented. Lily rolled her eyes and headed back to the room. "So, how soon were you thinking?"

"I was actually never planning on telling him," Lily called as she undressed and redressed.

"Really, I think he'd notice when he suddenly had a new grandchild," Rose said.

"Yeah, well," Lily said as she exited the room in jeans and a tee shirt. "I was going to see how far along I could get until he noticed."

"Ah," Rose said. She glanced away quickly.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Rose replied. Lily put her hands on her hips and glared at Rose.

"What did you say?" Lily demanded.

"Well, I kind of told my mum," Rose said. Lily's mouth fell open. "No, don't worry. Mum's not going to say anything to Uncle Harry or my dad, mainly because Mum doesn't want to catch the wrath of Harry and everyone knows my dad has a hard time keeping a secret."

"Super," Lily groaned. "Aunt Hermione knows."

"It's not all bad," Rose promised. "Mum's been there. Been pregnant. She knows how it can be and since Aunt Ginny isn't alive anymore to be there for you, I know Mum would be. She said she would be."

"That's swell," Lily said as she headed back to try on some more outfits.

"She says for me to tell you '_congratulations_' from her," Rose called out.

"Thanks, Rose. And that to your mum, too," Lily said as she settled on wearing her sweats again, and ignoring the maternity clothes for the moment.

"I will," Rose replied as she looked at Lily. "Do you want to feel Tabby move? She started getting a little wilder a few days ago."

"Sure," Lily said as she reached and placed her hand on Rose's expanding stomach. Sure enough, Tabby danced below Lily's hand and she couldn't help but smile at her cousin.

"It feels so different when you feel it from the inside out," Rose said. She grinned. "You'll be half way or so at Christmas, won't you? I bet you won't be able to hide it until then. Not with the way you're growing."

"Twenty two weeks to the day, actually. As for hiding it? Maybe not from work, no, but family? Easy," Lily said smugly. "Especially since I will continue to avoid them like the plague."

"Who wants to bet that Kate doesn't notice," Rose said. "Even with you seeing her several times a week with Tina."

"Yeah, I doubt that Kate will," Lily said shaking her head. "That poor girl is scatterbrained more and more when I see her."

"It's these pregnancy hormones," Rose assured Lily. "You'll see towards the end, you'd forget your own head if it wasn't attached."

"Super," Lily said smartly. "I'll be alone and headless."

"Maybe Nearly Headless Nick will visit you, and then you'd not be alone," Rose laughed. Lily giggled at the thought.

"So, really, when do you think I should tell my dad?" Lily asked. "What should I tell him?"

"Um, well," Rose said. "You're about to start your second trimester soon, right?"

"Yeah," Lily said as she glanced to the calendar.

"Tell him on Halloween," Rose said.

"You think that is wise? The day of Grandpa James and Granny Lily's passing?" Lily asked as she looked at the calendar. "I'll be like fourteen weeks then or something."

"Two weeks will give you plenty of time to get a new place, settle in, and then drop the bombshell on your father," Rose said knowingly. "Do it like a Bandaid. Just rip it all off in one quick motion."

"Oh, so say to my dad… _Dad, I'm pregnant with the bastard son of Malfoy, and the git dumped me, so I live in the slums of Brenshire_?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Brenshire, really? That's where you're thinking of looking?" Rose said wrinkling her nose.

"I am going to be raising it on a Healer's salary, Rose," Lily said shaking her head.

"But Brenshire? If I'm not mistaken, there's a really great apartment opening up in Albus' building. It's in Avondale, but the nice part," Rose said as she wrote down the address. "And anyways, whether he likes it or not, Scorpius is Bean's father and responsible for providing."

"Bean is it?" Lily smirked. "I'm not asking him for a damn thing. He made his intentions clear and pretty much made me hate him for the rest of his life, at least."

"Anger is better than sadness," Rose said as she stood. "Tabby gets heavier every single time I stand."

"I'd imagine so," Lily said. Rose winked at her.

"I was dying to show," Rose murmured as she looked at her cousin. "You're just so damn tiny. That's why you're showing quicker. It's a good look for you."

"Well, look as much as you can now, Rose, because after Bean is born, I'm done," Lily said. Rose grinned.

"Babies are addictive, Lily," Rose warned. Lily rolled her eyes and glanced at the piano.

"I'll miss this place," Lily said as her cousin walked to the door.

"Sometimes, it's for the best," Rose said. "I can't believe that he's being such a jerk about it. I should whip him good for it."

"No, Rose," Lily sighed. "He has a right to be mad. After all, I spewed to him that I never wanted marriage or a kid for years. He probably feels like I tricked him. This time, I'm not going to fight it. We're too different. We're better off."

"Oh, honey, don't cry," Rose said. Lily smiled through her tears.

"Damn hormones," Lily said. Rose wiped away tears that had sprung from her own eyes and nodded.

"Told you," Rose said as she exited. "See you at the Halloween party."

"See you then," Lily assured her as she shut the door behind Rose. Lily headed straight to the piano, sitting on the bench. She sighed sadly, playing for a moment the song from the locket. Every memory good and pure of Scorpius played before her mind's eye as she played. She loved him so completely. She couldn't imagine life without him. Not that she had much of a choice. Scorpius wanted her out of his life for good.

Lily continued to play as she ignored the tears that slipped down her cheeks. She would allow herself this one night of self loathing, tears, and sadness. She was allowed that much. Her life was up in the air at the moment. She knew she'd probably go ahead and take the apartment in Albus' building, just to pretend to be closer to family. Honestly she knew she'd hope to hear about Scorpius and wondered if that would be more torturous. She slammed her hands down on the piano, the discordant sound echoing in the apartment.

Lily pushed away from the piano and started pacing, unable to calm down. Panic and pain clenched at her heart as she thought about her child growing up without a father. She sunk onto the sofa, wrapping her arms around herself in a one person hug, trying to hold herself together. She didn't want to do this alone. She knew that she wanted her child to have both a mother and a father.

"Fine!" Lily shouted aloud to the empty apartment. "FINE!"

* * *

Lily decided not to tell her coworkers until she had a chance to tell her father, but Marshall had already picked up on the fact that Lily was pregnant. He made it hard to ignore, his knowledge, when the two of them did a shift together. Lily had gone to lift the crate of milk cartons and he barked at her to let him. She had looked at him, surprised and he sighed.

"Look, Lily, I know," Marshall said quietly.

"You know?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," Marshall said. "It obvious that you don't plan on saying anything to me or Shanna, but I just wanted to let you know that I know."

"It's nothing against you two, I just haven't told my family yet," Lily said. Marshall looked at her warily.

"You're pretty far along though, huh?" Marshall asked.

"Thirteen weeks today," Lily said. Marshall examined her shape with his eye, almost critically.

"When do you plan on telling them?" Marshall asked in shock.

"Next week," Lily said. "On Halloween."

"Well, wow," Marshall said quietly. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Lily said.

"Have you seen a midwife?" Marshall asked. Lily nodded.

"I'm seeing a muggle one," Lily said. Marshall grinned.

"You and your muggle quacks."

"Hey," Lily laughed.

"So, how's Scorpius' taking it?" Marshall asked.

"Oh, um. Well… we, he and I, b-broke up," Lily said nervously.

"Oh," Marshall said. He hesitated. "That must make living in the same apartment building interesting."

"I moved out last weekend," Lily said.

"To where?" Marshall asked.

"Blevins," Lily said. Marshall laughed.

"What's in Blevins?" Marshall asked.

"Well, me and eventually Baby Bean," Lily said as she touched her stomach lightly. Marshall laughed louder as the two of them continued to walk along passing out the milk cartons and checking on their patients.

"Did he break up with you because of this?" Marshall asked as he pointed to the small round mound that used to be Lily's flat abs. Lily shook her head.

"Oh, no, we just kind of grew apart," Lily lied. Marshall raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Well, hell, congratulations anyways, Lils, and if you ever need someone to run out at three in the morning for pickles and ice cream, you can call me," Marshall said winking at her. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I think I can manage just fine on my own, Marshall," Lily told him. Marshall laughed again.

"I don't doubt it," Marshall said. The two of them continued to walk along together, silent. Marshall looked at Lily. "Damn, you're going to be a mum. That's cool and scary, all wrapped up in one."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Lily said. "The part that sucks the most? I had to pay some guy to help me put together my futon so I could have some where to sit and sleep."

"That's all you have in your apartment?" Marshall asked.

"For the moment," Lily said as she glanced at the chart she had open in front of her.

"I have a basement full of stuff, if you want to come by after our shift here. You're welcome to it all," Marshall said grinning. Lily smiled.

"That'd be awesome, but I'm on a tight budget," Lily told him. Marshall laughed.

"Silly, you can _have_ it. It's older stuff, nothing spectacular really," Marshall said. "It's collecting dust and some of it might need to be recovered, but you are welcome to it."

"Lily's welcome to what?" Shanna asked.

"Oh, just a piece of furniture for her new apartment," Marshall said dismissively as he finished up his last chart.

"You moved Lily?" Shanna asked in surprise as the new Healer approached. Lily nodded casually.

"Things just weren't working out at the other place, so I found a great little one bedroom place not too far from here," Lily said as she snapped her last chart closed. She smiled at Shanna and stood, whipping her coat on around her before Shanna could really get a good look at her.

"Sorry to hear that things weren't working out for you," Shanna said. She looked at Lily. "Are you sleeping well, you look tired and a bit thin in the face."

"I'm fine," Lily said. "And don't tell me to go see my father, I'm going to see him on Halloween."

"You've always been such a good girl," Shanna laughed as Lily grabbed her purse and started to walk away. "If you need anything, Lily, let me know."

"I will, Shanna," Lily called back to her as Lily left St. Mungo's with Marshall. The two walked along in silence as the hustle and bustle of early morning patrons bumped by them on the sidewalk.

"Here we are," Marshall said as he looked up at the house.

"Wow, you live here?" Lily asked. Marshall nodded.

"Yup, I inherited it a few years ago when my uncle died," Marshall said. He unlocked the doors and pushed his way in. "Follow me, unless you'd want some breakfast first."

"I'm fine," Lily assured him as she pulled off her coat and hung it up. Marshall's eyes landed on her stomach. Lily laughed. "It's only going to get bigger, or so I am told."

"Yeah," Marshall swallowed as he pulled his gaze away and headed down the stairs. "So, why didn't you get anything in the apartment?"

"It came furnished. I didn't own any of it," Lily said dismissively. She stopped at the bottom step and looked around. "Wow."

"Yeah," Marshall grinned. "It's a whole lot of stuff."

"Are you sure, Marsh?" Lily asked.

"Take what you need, Lils," Marshall said grinning. "I know a great shrinking spell so we can shrink it all down and enlarge it to fit your apartment."

"This is fantastic stuff," Lily said as her fingers touched the different surfaces. She looked at Marshall and hugged him, crying.

"Don't cry over it," Marshall said uncomfortably as he patted her shoulder. "Uncle Miller would be thrilled that someone was using it."

"You're just such a good friend," Lily said sniffling. "I mean, when all my friends decided to go Auror, it was as if a rift developed and it only got bigger and bigger. Now I can't relate to my best friend Shale, my now ex-boyfriend Scorpius wants me completely gone from his life, and my other best friend Kate is a complete idiot."

"Ah, that happens," Marshall assured her. "Sometimes, Aurors are people of their own breed and have a hard time understanding what it's like to be someone on the outside, such as a Healer, looking in."

"Thank you," Lily said as he handed her a handkerchief.

"I enjoy being your friend, Lily," Marshall assured her as he looked away and back at the furniture. "So, let see. What will you need for your new place?"

Marshall and Lily spent three hours going over the furniture he had in his basement, selecting various things and shrinking them down to fit in a single burlap sack. Marshall carried it while Lily led to Blevins, a small neighborhood not too far away from Marshall's own residence. Marshall glanced around the clean and bright, though bare apartment and began placing and enlarging the furniture. By noon, the two were sitting on the couch eating pizza and laughing.

"So, I'd better head home," Marshall said as he finished washing the dishes for Lily. She sat at the bar, perched on one of the two barstools, across from him at the sink.

"Thanks for all this really neat stuff," Lily said as she gestured to the room. "It beats what was in here before."

"Something is always more than nothing," Marshall said as he dried his hands and put his coat on. He hugged Lily lightly. "I was serious. If you ever need anything, even if that means just someone to work the opposite shift to save on daycare when your baby is born, I'm here for you."

"Oh, wow," Lily said as the two separated. "That's a really big offer, Marshall, really."

"That's what friends are for, Lils. You'd do the same for me," Marshall said shrugging slightly. Lily grinned as he opened the door. "Seriously, call me if you need pickles and ice cream or anything."

"Have a good night at work," Lily said waving.

"Enjoy your night off, Lily," Marshall said grinning as he waved and headed down the stairs. Lily closed and bolted the door before looking around her apartment. The furniture was old, but it suited her. It was warm, homely which honestly reflected Lily's personality. She dreaded the future, just slightly, but shrugged. The future would come one way or another. By this time next week, she'd be out about her pregnancy to her family. There was no turning back. She was hopelessly in love with her child.


	39. Halloween Surprise

**A/N:** Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed. I do appreciate it greatly. I am replying, I promise. If I've missed replying to your review, rest assured it was just an oversight on my part, for which I am greatly apologetic. I like this chapter… even thought I did tear up a bit. Hey, I'm the author. I'm allowed to be emotional.

**Disc.:** Standard "I did not create" statement.

**Halloween Surprise**

* * *

Lily had tried on half a dozen outfits before settling on a pair of jeans and a simple, plain tee shirt. Both of them neither accentuated nor hid her growing stomach. She pulled on her coat, belting it loosely across her waist before grabbing her purse and leaving her apartment in Blevins. She decided to take the Knight bus, with how uncomfortable apparating made her feel. She didn't want her baby to be in any discomfort.

During her bumpy ride to her father's house on Halloween, she thought about what she would need to start thinking about purchasing to get her baby around. Apparating was out, certainly, and after this ride on the Knight bus, she was certain she'd never want to bring her child on here. She thought about a car and wondered if she could learn to drive one or if she could get away with muggle public transit. That sounded more doable, in Lily's eyes. Plus she really didn't want to deal with all that came with being a car owner.

"Miss? Your stop is next," the wizard who had taken Lily's money has said. Lily looked up and nodded. She had never felt more nervous than she did now. This over shadowed every moment that had come before it. This wasn't one of those events where Lily would be ok with her family's disapproval. She needed them to be ok with it. No. Lily needed her dad to be happy for her. Rose had told her that he would, but until Lily saw it with her own two eyes, she'd dare not believe it.

"Your stop," the wizard said as the bus lurched to a quick stop in front of Lily's parent's house. She glanced at the familiar yard and felt the uneven thudding of her heart. She nodded, swallowing nervously as she stood. She was barely a meter clear of the bus when it took off again, leaving Lily without a way to run. She hesitated at the front door, uncertain if she should knock or head right in. She stood there for a minute or more before the door swung open and Kate threw her arms around Lily.

"Sister!" Kate cheered merrily. "Happy Halloween."

"You, too Kate," Lily said as she looked at the enormous stomach barely contained by Kate's shirt. "How's pregnancy?"

"Ten days late and no sign of the darling," Kate said laughing as she patted the mountain. Lily's eyes were wide, as if she was fearful. She was, in fact, afraid that she'd get that large.

"It can't stay in there forever, can it?" Lily joked nervously as Kate ushered her into the house.

"Too right, sister," Albus laughed as he hugged his sister. He looked at her curiously but said nothing. Lily blushed slightly and she unbelted her coat, hanging it on the coat tree by the kitchen door. Harry, Aunt Hermione, and Rose were in the kitchen, whipping up a Halloween feast. Lily walked in unannounced, unobtrusive, and took a seat beside her Uncle Ron.

"Lily, hungry?" Ron asked moodily. "Because if you are, these torturous fiends will deny you until you starve to death."

"Quit being so overdramatic, Ronald," Hermione said shooting him a look. Her eyes fell on Lily and she beamed, knowing full well Lily's secret. "How are you feeling, Lily? Would you like something to eat?"

"Sure, feed the kid," Ron grumbled. Lily laughed.

"No, I'm fine, Aunt Hermione," Lily said. "Do you need any help?"

"We've got it sweetie," Harry said throwing her a smile over his shoulder before focusing on the dish he was working on. "How's work?"  
"I'm sure Shanna's keeping you updated," Lily said quickly. She grinned as he laughed, his laughter filling the room. Lily could only hope that his good mood would continue and that he would still feel like laughing once she told him her big news.

"I still like to hear it from you," Harry said as he turned and looked at her. Lily met his eyes for a moment and looked away. She casually gestured.

"It's just the same old thing," Lily said.

"Shanna said you moved," Harry said raising and eyebrow. Lily looked at him and flashed a stunning smile his way.

"I got my own place in Blevins," Lily said grinning. "It's so cute, a little one bedroom place with a view of the park."

"Wait, you moved out of that sweet apartment Malfoy's kid gave you? Why?" Ron asked as he looked at her in surprise.

"Well, Uncle Ron, Scorpius and I broke up," Lily said slowly. Ron didn't seem fazed by that remark.

"So? It was one hell of an apartment," Ron said. Lily laughed, surprised that she was able to laugh about being dumped.

"I needed a fresh start, a clean break. This apartment is mine, all mine," Lily said grinning. "I don't have to be thankful for a gift and anyways, it would just be awkward living down the hall from my ex-boyfriend. Imagine how it'd feel if Victor Krum lived next door to you guys."

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Ron said frowning. Hermione laughed and offered him a cookie. He took the plate from her.

"It's good for me, closer to work," Lily said. She laughed as James walked by, carrying Petri on one arm and Tina on the other.

"Aunt Lily!" Tina cheered as she practically leaped from James' arms. Lily embraced her niece, happy to see her.

"Tina, how are you?" Lily asked as Kate waddled into the room.

"Annoying as ever," Kate laughed as Tina stuck her tongue out at her.

"So, you and Scorpius broke up?" Harry asked slowly, carefully as if he was forming his words with precision and precise care. Lily nodded.

"Yes," Lily said. "It was time."

"I can't blame you myself," Ron said with his mouth full. "A Malfoy, after all. And the way he was talking marriage and family and what not, I was afraid that we'd have you married off to him by summer."

"No," Lily said simply. "I never wanted marriage."

"Or a family," Albus teased. "Merlin, remember when you told her that you were going to be a dad, I thought she was going to choke on her lunch."

"Yeah," James said chuckling at the memory.

"Well, yeah," Lily said uncomfortably as she looked at Rose and Hermione helplessly for a moment. Both of them just smiled at her warmly, comforting her without words. "Things like that change _sometimes_."

The room grew quiet as her family looked at her, really looked at her. She was sitting close to the edge of the table, the table cloth and table hiding her lower half. She had leaned forward on her hands.

"Lily?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Daddy?" Lily said in her sweet, innocent, I'm-still-your-princess voice.

"What do you mean things change?" Harry asked slowly.

"Well…" Lily trailed off. She sighed slightly and stood. Her family looked at her, Kate and Maggie catching on quickly while the men-folk looked at her dumbfounded and clueless. Lily laughed nervously and pressed her shirt tightly against her stomach, outlining the perfect little mound that had cropped up just below her belly button.

"Is that what I think?" Harry asked quietly, looking at his daughter in surprise. Lily felt her resolve shattering. He didn't look happy.

"I'm p-pregnant," Lily stuttered.

"W-what? H-how?" Sputtered James and Albus in unison, only to have the same thing echoed by Uncle Ron a half a second behind them. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy!" James growled. "That good for nothing…"

"Now wait, James," Lily said in protest as she raised his hand to stop him. "It takes two, and I am just as much as at fault as he is, if not more so for not protecting myself from it. This isn't Scorpius' fault."

"He dumped you because you are pregnant, didn't he?" James snarled in anger. Lily looked at him in shock.

"Why would you say that?" Lily asked.

"It's true, isn't it?" James demanded. He looked ready to kill and Lily was afraid that he'd hurt himself or Scorpius. She felt stupid to care what happened to Scorpius, and she tried to convince herself it was because of the loss of Bean's father's life and not for the fact that Lily still was hopelessly in love with him.

"No, of course not James," Lily snapped as she crossed her arms. She glared at him.

"Then what? He doesn't want to marry you now, is it? Make an honest woman out of you?" James demanded.

"You are hopeless, James!" Lily exclaimed in outrage. "I already _told_ you, told everyone. I don't _want_ to be married. Scorpius and I broke up. It had nothing to do with _my _baby. Leave it alone, James."

"So that's it then? He knocks you up and then drops out of your life?" James said as his fists remained clinched at his sides. He was visibly angry. Lily touched his shoulder, hesitantly, before she lightly hugged him.

"Thank you for loving me so much that you want to defend my honor, James, but honestly, please, just leave it alone," Lily begged quietly. "Just be happy for me, and accept me."

"Of course I'm happy for you, Lily," James said as he relaxed almost instantly, lightly hugging her back. "I just… I don't like to see you hurt, that's all."

"I'm not hurt," Lily lied. She smiled at him. "We all know I said that I didn't want marriage. Scorpius and I are just too different."

"Damn straight," Ron muttered. Lily laughed as she pulled away and looked at her father hesitantly.

"Dad?" Lily asked almost fearful of his response. How he reacted would make or break Lily. If he accepted and was happy for her, she could do this on her own. Anything less, and she was certain that she would shatter into a million pieces right there before them. Harry stepped forward, the room's eyes on him. He looked at his daughter and embraced her.

"I am very happy for you, Lily. I honestly never thought that I'd get a grandchild from you, and while this isn't exactly the way I pictured it, I am still thrilled," Harry whispered to his daughter. Lily laughed, hugging her father back. Tears sprung to her eyes and she wiped them away hastily.

"I still want to go kick Malfoy's ass," James whispered to Albus, who nodded.

"No, James," Harry said shaking his head sternly.

"But Dad!" James protested.

"It does explain why Malfoy wanted the extended station in Argentina," Albus said dismissively. Lily looked at Albus curiously as the rest of the room groaned.

"What's in Argentina?" Lily asked reflexively. Harry cleared his throat.

"Anyone up for some pumpkin tarts while Hermione and I put the finishing touches on our feast?" Harry said a little louder than normal. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I get it, I do. Can't tell the Healer because she's not an Auror," Lily said grumpily.

"And a good thing, too," Albus said as he poked Rose in the stomach. "Like our department could really stand to have two people off for maternity leave."

"It's only for a year, and I'll still be doing some work from home," Rose snapped as she slapped his hand away. "And I'll remind you that Tabby does not like to be poked."

"Sounds like a cat," Albus smirked. Harry popped him upside the head.

"That's your cousin's daughter you're talking about," Harry said. He looked to Lily. "Speaking of, how far along are you? Do you know what you are having?"

"I'm fourteen weeks," Lily said. She saw her dad cringe slightly but he smiled.

"So, too soon to tell," Harry commented.

"But there is only one, despite her already starting to show quite much," Rose said helpfully. Lily rolled her eyes.

"As soon as I find out, I'll let you know, Dad," Lily promised. He hugged her from the side.

"Whatever you have, Lily, it came from you and I will love it," Harry promised. Lily smiled, glad that he seemed to be taking it well.

"Please just do not name is Scorpius Junior," James begged through clenched teeth. "It's bad enough that its' a Malfoy."

"I was thinking of keeping the baby's last name Potter," Lily said quietly. Harry looked at Lily in surprise.

"Do you think Scorpius would allow that?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's my baby, not Scorpius'," Lily said defensively. "It's not his decision to make."

"Still, I'd think that he'd want a part in his child's life," Harry said quite confused. Lily shook her head slightly without realizing that she had done it.

"I'm committed to raising my baby on my own," Lily said quietly. Harry didn't push the topic any and instead went about finishing up their feast. The group sat down to eat as the first of many door bells chiming interrupted them. Each one took their turn answering the door and passing out candy to the dressed up muggle children. James and Lily stood beside each other as a little girl with big blue eyes approached. She had a broom and a pointed hat.

"Look, a witch," James commented. The little girl looked at him.

"I'm not a bad witch," the little girl assured him. "I'm a good witch." Lily laughed and handed the child some candy. James looked at Lily.

"So, that's the reason, then," James said quietly. "You don't have to lie to me, Lily. It was written all over your face. Scorpius and you broke up over the baby."

"Please leave it alone, James," Lily said quietly in a begging tone.

"I want to kick his ass, but out of respect for your wishes, I won't," James said quietly.

"Thank you, James," Lily said quietly. He looked at her and forced a smile.

"You know, if you ever change your mind on that…"

"You'll be the first one I let know, James, I promise," Lily said. James grinned.

"It's all I ask," James said. He thought a moment or two. "What I don't get is Scorpius has wanted to marry you and start a family for as long as I can recall. I get that you don't want a marriage, but I can't believe that he'd be so against you having his child out of wedlock that he'd want nothing to do with you. Either of you."

"I don't know what to say," Lily said sadly. "I guess words were meaningless. When it came down to it, Scorpius and I just weren't meant to be."

"How are you holding yourself so together?" James wondered aloud. Lily smiled weakly.

"It's not easy, but Bean needs me to be strong," Lily said as she tenderly touched the mound. "I never knew love like I know now. Between you and me, I was all set to end the pregnancy. It was Rose that showed me the light, so to speak."

"Wow," James said as he glanced over at his very pregnant cousin. "I'm glad she did, Lily. You really will make a good mother."

"Who'll make a good mother?" Albus came up beside the two of them, followed by Kate.

"Lily will," James told him. Albus snickered.

"The girl who never wanted kids," Albus teased.

"I'm good with Tina and Petri," Lily defended. Kate groaned quietly.

"I bet she's going to be great with this little bugger too," Kate said. Lily looked at Kate curiously.

"Are you ok?" Lily asked as she went to Kate's side.

"Fine, fine," Kate said waving her off. "Just those fake contractions."

"How often have you been having them," Lily said as she went into Healer mode.

"I'm not in labor," Kate laughed. "I would know. This isn't my first rodeo."

"Humor me, Kate," Lily said as she put her hand to Kate's stomach. It tightened under Lily's hand as Kate groaned again.

"It's not labor, Lily," Kate laughed harder. A quiet pop was barely heard and suddenly Kate looked really serious. Lily grinned.

"That, my dear sister in law, sounds like you might have broken you water," Lily grinned bigger. Kate's eyes darted down to the floor where a little puddle of water was forming at her feet.

"That's just nasty," Hugo grunted.

"Just you wait, Hugo," Albus laughed. "Kate's water broke in bed last time and we thought she'd had an accident."

"Albus!" Kate snapped at him, suddenly in a lot of pain.

"Looks like I'm going to be an aunt again," Lily said calmly as she timed the next contraction. Her face went serious. "Look unless you guys are up for a Halloween baby born at home, you may want to get everything in gear and start heading to the birthing center."

"Don't leave me with these idiots," Kate begged as everyone began running around like crazy. Harry grabbed the keys and a stack of towels.

"I just got it detailed," Harry said sheepishly as Lily and Albus helped Kate to the car.

"I'll keep an eye on Tina for you," James called as Rose and Hermione joined the birthing crew in the car.

"Whatever!" Kate shrieked as pain ripped through her.

"Wow, this is kind of scary on this end," Lily whispered to Rose as the car whipped in and out of traffic, Kate and Albus in the front seat of the car with Harry.

"It's scarier on this end!" Kate shrieked. "Oh, GOD, it hurts. I want to push."

"No! Not yet!" Harry begged. "Not in the car."

"Gee, great dad," Albus joked. "Don't want your next granddaughter born in the car, do you?"

"I'm going to kill you Albus," Kate threatened as she tried to breathe through the pain. "And Harry, if you don't get to the center now, I'm going to pop this kid out onto your dash board."

"Wow," Lily said wide eyed.

"Just you wait," Albus joked from the front seat. "She'll start blaming me for everything. Labor brings the devil out of every woman."

"Something to look forward too," Lily whispered.

Harry screeched the tires as he pulled to a stop in front of the birthing center. It was a rushing whirlwind of activity as Kate and Albus were hauled off to a room. Lily had no intention on being in there with her brother and sister in law, but Rose and Hermione drug Lily in there to witness firsthand the business of bringing a child into the world. Lily looked horrified and in awe all in the same moment as her newest niece, Sarah Potter, was born. The baby had a tuff of orange-red, Weasley colored hair and was screaming it's blotchy little head off, dripping with ooze and blood.

"She's so beautiful," Albus whispered as he kissed Kate's forehead, both admiring the baby.

"Happy Halloween, love," Kate said as she looked up at Albus. Lily felt a lump form in her throat and the familiar sting of tears. She would be alone when she gave birth, in a strange muggle hospital instead of a warm, magical birthing center. She'd not have a husband or even a lover who'd be willing to hold her hand and then rejoice in the birth of their child.

"I love you, Kate," Albus whispered as he was handed his daughter. Kate looked up at him from her bed as if he was a god and smiled.

"I love you too, Al," Kate breathed. Lily turned and walked out of the room. She headed off toward the courtyard of the center, sitting by the fountain. She buried her face into her hands and sobbed. It was too late, but Lily knew what she wanted. She wanted Scorpius to be a part of her and their child's life. But it was too late, Lily knew this. Scorpius had laid it down and ended any future. Lily would do this alone, not because she wanted to but because she had no other choice.


	40. The Ultrasound

A/N: Ok, so… I know things are dragging with the replies and what-not, but my kids are on the autumn break already and since their dad is off at basic training, I'm on my own with entertaining them… ALSO, thank you all who are reviewing, the consistent ones who review every chapter or so, to the new people who just started reviewing, to the reviewers that I can't reply to… I appreciate the time you take to review. Makes me feel loved. :D

Disc: Standard Disclaimer about non-creationism of the whole HP world.

* * *

The Ultrasound

It moved. At first Lily wasn't sure what the heck was going on. She had been lying in her bed, the covers surrounding her in layers. She could see her breath in the air and snow sticking to the window pane. The furnace was out and the apartment was cold. Skye was curled up in her basket, refusing to come out, and that was fine by Lily. Lily had no intentions on getting out of bed, if she could help it. She had already nearly frozen her bum off during her half-dozen middle of the night trips to the loo. She watched the snow and her breath, not really thinking of anything when she felt something stir. She froze, her eyes darting down to her stomach.

She felt something again, a swirling stirring movement and Lily's eyes opened wide. She reached for the phone and dialed Rose's number.

"Lily?" Rose yawned.

"Something's happening," Lily said.

"What do you mean?" Rose said alertly. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"I… I don't know," Lily said almost hesitantly.

"Ok, explain to me what's going on," Rose told her.

"I'm here in bed and… I don't know. It feels like there is something touching me," Lily said nervously. "But from the inside."

"You're nineteen weeks?" Rose yawned again, relaxing back in bed.

"About eighteen," Lily said.

"Honey, and don't feel stupid when I tell you this, but that's just Bean saying hello to you," Rose laughed sleepily.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Quickening," Rose explained. "That's your baby moving around in you. You were tiny before you got pregnant, so it's kind of expected that you'd feel it soon."

"That's Bean?" Lily asked in awe. Rose chuckled and then yawned. "Oh, sorry for waking you Rose. I should have known."

"It's all right, Lily," Rose assured her. "I'll call you in the morning, and try to get some sleep."

"Will do, Rose," Lily said as she hung up the phone. She placed her hand on her bare stomach, feeling the movements on the inside though she was not able to feel it through her skin. She knew it would be a matter of time, but for the moment, Lily was content. It was the first contact she had with Bean aside from the monthly midwife visits where she heard Bean's heart on their Doppler. Lily sighed as the urge to use the bathroom struck her suddenly and she was met with the icy air of the apartment. It was times like these she missed the heated floors and the spoiled luxuries of the old apartment.

"Happy December, Bean," Lily murmured to her baby as she hurried to the bathroom. "If my bum gets stuck to the toilet seat, I'm going to be one unhappy mum."

* * *

"Lily, this place is freezing," Harry said as Lily opened the door to allow him entrance. He was carrying a large sack in his arms.

"The furnace is out," Lily said. Harry frowned as he placed the bag on the counter. "So, did you find the place alright, Dad?"

"Yes," Harry said as he looked at her. He hesitated before he hugged her, kissing her forehead. He looked around. "Want to give me the grand tour?"

"Sure," Lily said smirking. She waved her arm to the room before them. "This is the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

"I like what you've done with it," Harry said grinning. Lily pointed to the one of three doors along the wall.

"That's the bathroom, the middle one is my bedroom, and the closest one is the closet," Lily said.

"Where are you… going to put the baby?" Harry asked. Lily nodded, understanding.

"I figure this place will be good for a few years in the beginning," Lily said as she led him into her small bedroom. "I figure Bean could just sleep in my room. Maybe squeeze a port-a-crib in here instead of a full size crib like Albus and Kate have for Tina. Then when Bean out grows it, if I still haven't found a new place I can always share my bed."

"What do you plan to do about work and childcare?" Harry asked her as he headed back into the kitchen to unload the groceries he had brought her.

"Well, I have paid maternity leave for six months," Lily said. "By then, I should have lined up a sitter for Bean. Otherwise Marshall will be taking the opposite shifts of me and keeping Bean for me."

"Who's Marshall?" Harry asked curiously. "Honestly, I feel like I don't know anything about your life anymore."

"I'm sorry about that, Dad," Lily said biting her lip. "I thought that I could do this on my own, this adult thing. I know I can do this baby thing on my own. I have to. But I didn't need to, shouldn't have secluded you from my life. I was just so eager to be my own adult, do my thing my own way and look where it got me!"

"Ok, so maybe getting pregnant was your idea of fun, but you're going to be an awesome mum, Lily," Harry said. "After your mum's accident, you took care of James, Albus, and me as if we were your responsibility. You were always so strong. I think you are going to be right fine mum. As for pushing me away to be your own adult, I can understand that. Sometimes we have to take our own wants and desires into account before others. I've missed our time together, but I know what it's like."

"Thanks, Dad," Lily said as she hugged her father. The two were hugging when someone knocked on Lily's door. Harry reluctantly released her and Lily crossed the small apartment in ten quick paces. She opened the door and grinned.

"Hey, Lils, the snow is starting up again," Marshall said laughing as he pulled his coat off and hung it by the door.

"Is it?" Lily asked as Marshall shook the snow from his dark hair.

"Like you wouldn't believe, and here it is still weeks from Christmas," Marshall said. He looked up to see Harry looking at the young man curiously. "Oh, I didn't know you had company. I can come back later."

"No, it's ok. Marshall, this is my dad. Dad, this is my friend Marshall, from work," Lily said introducing the two men. Harry and Marshall shook hands for a moment.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Potter," Marshall said politely.

"As it is to meet you," Harry said as he folded up the now empty paper sack. "So, you're a Healer?"

"Yes, sir," Marshall said proudly. "Top of my class."

"Marshall graduated a few years ahead of me," Lily explained.

"What made you choose Healer?" Harry asked curiously as Lily started making tea.

"Well, originally, I thought curse breaker or some other brilliantly adventurous career, but then I started thinking how much I would have to hide from my family, and I just couldn't do it," Marshall said smiling at Lily briefly. "I want to be able to share everything with my wife or partner."

"Marshall is great to have around when one of the heavier patients decided to jump out of bed," Lily said. "Could you imagine me chasing after a runner and dragging them back to bed?"

"It would be quite a sight," Harry said. He glanced at his watch. "I hate to do this to you, Lily, but I promised Kate and Albus that I'd mind the kids so they can go out for a bit."

"It's ok, Dad," Lily said as she put away the third tea cup she had taken out. She smiled at him and moved to hug him.

"You know, Mr. Potter, if you're not busy, you should come with us tomorrow to Lily's ultrasound," Marshall said. Harry looked at the young man.

"Us?" Harry asked.

"Well, yeah," Lily said flustered. "Marshall's going with me for emotional support."

"It's the big ultrasound," Marshall said as he poured the tea. "We get to find out what the baby is, boy or girl. I have my money on a girl."

"Rose and James are coming too," Lily said as she tried to read her father's face. Lily held her breath as father's face threatened to betray his true feelings. "You should come, Dad. Get to see you new grandson or granddaughter up close and person."

"Tomorrow?" Harry asked. Lily exhaled in relief.

"Yes, at noon," Lily said.

"Where at?" Harry asked.

"St. Mary's Hospital," Lily said grinning.

"I'll be there," Harry promised. He hugged her gently, as if she would break under too much pressure, and then withdrew his arm.

"I love you, Dad," Lily said sniffling. Harry laughed.

"I love you too, pumpkin," Harry said. "And get this furnace fixed."

"I'm already on it," Marshall promised as he nodded toward the big tool box resting on the hall table. "Don't want a Lily ice pop on my hands, and since she refuses to stay at my place until the part came, she's had me all in a tizzy about it."

"Well, the part came and now you can fix it," Lily teased Marshall lightly as Harry buttoned his coat.

"You behave," Harry said distractedly. Lily nodded as she closed the door behind her.

"Your dad thinks we're together, or at least I'm trying," Marshall said grinning. Lily laughed.

"And here I was thinking that you were," Lily snickered.

"We crossed that bridge already, Lils," Marshall teased as he pulled a DVD out of his pocket. "How about a movie once I get your furnace back working."

"Sounds like a plan," Lily said as she nodded. "Are you staying the night again?"

"You know it," Marshall laughed. "Nothing better than sleeping on the couch of your best friend, on the eve of the big, important ultrasound of her baby with another man."

"You are so over dramatic," Lily said. "I'm ordering pizza."

"Fine, fine," Marshall said as he picked up his tool box. He hesitated at the door. "You are going to tell Scorpius he's having a son or daughter, aren't you?"

"I've not decided," Lily said.

"I think you should," Marshall said. "For what it's worth."

* * *

Lily clutched Marshall's hand nervously as Lisa, the tech from earlier in Lily's pregnancy, led the group into the small, dark room. Lily was wearing a pair of black pants and a plain white tee shirt. Her stomach was evident of the child she was carrying. Lisa grinned at Rose and the others.

"I see this time, you brought more moral support," Lisa grinned. She looked a Marshall. "Congrats on your new baby."

"Oh, no, I'm not the father," Marshall laughed as he allowed Lily to drop his hand. "Just the best friend."

"Lisa, this is my dad and brother, Harry and James Potter," Lily introduced. Lisa shook both of their hands and then turned to Lily.

"Ready to find out whether you are getting a little boy or little girl, Lily?" Lisa said excitedly. Lily smiled and nodded.

"I sure am," Lily.

"Alright, just lay up on the table here and we'll get some measurements and such, and then see if we can find out if you'll be outfitting your nursery in pink or blue," Lisa said. Lily nervously climbed up on the table, eager to see Bean for the first time since the last time she had see the baby, on this very bed with plans of a very different outcome.

Lily grinned nervously as Lisa pulled out a very different probe for looking at her stomach. Lisa smiled at she pulled out a clear bottle, filled to the top with blue gel. The gel was cool to Lily's skin, but Lily didn't care. Her eyes darted right to the screen and she watched as a very baby-like image came into view. Lily smiled, her eyes filled with tears, and she was in love all over again with her child. She couldn't look at the faces of her family and friend, instead, her eyes stayed glued to the screen. Her baby was sucking on its thumb, and Lily was vaguely aware of her family's coos of admiration for Lily's sweet baby.

"Everything look ok?" Harry asked and Lily's eyes darted to Lisa's. Lily forced a smile but it didn't quite meet her eyes.

"I just want Dr. Maxwell to take a look at this," Lisa said quickly as she smiled. She patted Lily's leg and replaced the probe. Lily watched Lisa leave with a ribbon of ultrasound pictures that she had taken. Lily looked to her father.

"Dad?" Lily asked in fear.

"I don't know, sweetie," Harry said as he moved to take Marshall's place next to her, answering her unspoken question. Lily slipped her hand into his and bit her lip, fighting the tears. She opened her mouth to say something more, to ask another question, but the door opened and a tall doctor walked in, his hair flecked with much more gray than Harry had. He smiled at Lily genuinely.

"Hello, Lily. I'm Dr. Maxwell," he said as he extended his hand to Lily. She shook it and he looked to Harry. "And you must be Lily's father, am I correct?"

"He is," Lily piped up her voice quivering slightly.

"Well, let's take a look at your baby," Dr. Maxwell said as he oozed some fresh gel on the probe and pressed it against Lily's skin. "Cold, huh?"

"Yes," Lily said as she looked at the screen critically. She couldn't see anything wrong with the baby. Bean looked perfected in Lily's eyes. Lisa's finger darted quickly, pointing at the screen and Lily focus on the black and white blur that Lisa was focused on.

"Is there something wrong with the baby?" Harry asked boldly, putting into words Lily was afraid to speak. Dr. Maxwell didn't speak at first, just focused the machine and did measurements.

"Well, Mr. Potter," Dr. Maxwell said as he looked at Harry. His eyes left Harry's and rested on Lily's panic stricken face. "Lisa and I both see a shadow on the baby's heart. These are tricky things, these shadows. They could be nothing, such as excess fluid around the heart that resolves shortly before birth or it could mean something a little more serious, like Down's Syndrome."

"Oh," Lily breathed as if the sound rushed from her lungs. It felt like it had, like someone had kicked her in the chest.

"On the plus side, we can do an amniocentesis and know for certain," Dr. Maxwell said. "Once you know for certain you can decide what you will do."

"What are her options?" Harry asked quietly, and again Lily was thankful he was there to ask the questions she was most afraid to ask.

"She could chose to keep the pregnancy or terminate it," Dr. Maxwell said. "Luckily she's before the twenty-six week, so it wouldn't be a physically difficult procedure to perform."

"No," Lily said shaking her head hard, tears streaming down her face.

"Huh?" Harry asked looking at Lily.

"I don't want to have the test," Lily said shaking her head harder. "I want my baby, either way, and I don't care."

"Lily," Dr. Maxwell said quietly. "You're a young woman, and no one would think badly of you for this." Lily looked at Rose, who shook her head.

"This is your decision, Lily," Rose said quietly. Her face was filled with sadness and regret. "A child with those issues can be a lot for a single mother to care for."

"I don't care," Lily said a little more forcibly. "Bean is my baby. I don't care what is wrong with… what is it anyways? Girl or boy? It doesn't matter! Bean is MINE!"

"Calm down, Lily," Marshall said soothingly. "Of course, Bean is your baby. Whatever you decide to do, it is up to you and we will all stand behind you and support you."

"I don't want the test," Lily said.

"It might be good to know for certain," Dr. Maxwell said.

"You.Are.Not.Shoving.A.Giant.Needle.Into.Bean's.HOME!" Lily said forcibly through a clenched jaw.

"Ok," Dr. Maxwell said as he patted her shoulder gently. He smiled. "The option stands, should you change your mind."

"I won't," Lily breathed as he replaced the wand on her stomach.

"Otherwise, Bean looks great," Dr. Maxwell said as he took a few profile pictures. Lily's eyes shot open wide as the probe jumped. Dr. Maxwell chuckled. "I felt that, I know you had to. Let see if we can get some great pictures for you to take with you."

"Ok," Lily said as she studied her baby, tears in her eyes. For Lily, that was Bean's way of assuring Lily that everything would be fine, everything would work out. For Lily, Bean was thanking her for not sticking a giant needle anywhere close to it. Dr. Maxwell printed off a few of Lily of Bean's thumb sucking adventures and midway, a case of the hiccups that Lily could feel. Her stomach twitched slightly.

"Let's see whether you're having a girl or boy," Dr. Maxwell said. "That is, if you want to."

"Please," Lily said quietly as she looked to the doctor for a moment before she looked back at the screen. Dr. Maxwell positioned the probe over Lily's stomach, pushing it around her stomach rather uncomfortable. After ten minutes of trying, Dr. Maxwell sighed and pulled the probe away from Lily.

"Well, honey, your baby here is stubborn as can be," Dr. Maxwell said shaking his head. "I guess I pissed the bugger off and now it doesn't want me to see whether the baby is a boy or girl."

"Sounds like Lily, stubborn as hell," James laughed. The rest of the room laughed, the tension still on the edge of their minds.

"That's ok Bean," Lily said as she patted her stomach. "You can keep that secret from me if you want. It won't change anything. I still love you."

Bean kicked her hand hard in response. Lily laughed through the tears in her eyes and patted her stomach again gently. Lily took it as an _'I-Love-You-Too-Mum'_, directly from Baby Bean. As the others moved around Lily, placing upon her bare belly their hands to feel the baby, Lily knew that once before she was eager to end the pregnancy before it really had a chance to grow on her, she would defend the life with in her, flawed or not, with her all. Even if it meant her own death, she would defend Bean with every breath in her body. Bean was her child, her love, and she would do whatever it took. And if Bean wasn't what others thought was the perfect baby, if Bean had problems, Lily would still love it.

Lily was quiet on the ride home, her hand protectively cradling her stomach. She tapped back anytime Bean tapped her first, the two playing the game all of the way home. Harry pulled to a stop in front of Lily's apartment. Lily moved to get out, Marshall having already jumped out of Harry's station wagon to get Lily's door. Harry touched her arm.

"Lily, we all know you love your baby, but maybe it would help you be prepared if you went ahead with the test," Harry said quietly. "That way, when she or he is born, you will already know what to expect and there won't be in surprises."

"Dad," Lily breathed, barely able to control her tears. "Everything about Bean has been a surprise. How should this be any different?"

"I only want you to know what you are getting into, to be prepared," Harry said. "I don't want you to be disappointed if your baby is different than say Tina, Petri, or Sarah."

"Every baby is different," Lily said shaking her head. "And I could never be disappointed in Bean."

"What if… what if Bean's condition is fatal, Lily? What then?" Harry said desperately. Lily fought back a sob.

"I love my baby, Daddy. Just like you loved us," Lily said as tears streamed down her face.

"If Bean isn't meant to live, then Lily will spend whatever time she is meant to have with her baby, be it a few moments or a few months," Marshall said forcibly to Harry. "Lily's not afraid to love a child that might not make it."

"Thank you," Lily whispered to Marshall as she climbed out of Harry's station wagon onto the snowy curb.

"I love you, Lily. I only want the best for you," Harry mumbled as he put the car into gear and drove away. Marshall slipped his arm around Lily's shoulders and led her to the door.

"Lily," Marshall said as he fished his key to her apartment door out of his pocket.

"I'm ok," Lily said with a sigh.

"Do you want me to come up?" Marshall asked. Lily shook her head.

"I think Bean and I need to be alone tonight," Lily said as she entered the building. "Thank you for coming with me today, Marsh."

"My pleasure, Lily," Marshall said grinning. He hugged her lightly and handed Lily her purse.

"I don't deserve you for a friend," Lily said quietly. Marshall laughed.

"You deserve better, Lils, always," Marshall said. He shook the snow free from his hair. "You'd better get up to that toasty apartment of yours."

"Thank you for fixing the furnace, too," Lily laughed. Already she was longing for a warm bath, a cup of hot tea, and to snuggle under her covers. It was barely dinner time, but for Lily it had been an emotionally exhausting day.

"Gee, Lily, the way you are thanking me, you'd think you'd ask me to dinner or something," Marshall teased. Lily rolled her eyes.

"See you at work tomorrow Marshall," Lily laughed as she closed the door and headed up the several flights of stairs to her tiny apartment. She sighed, longing wishing she had a piano to play on when the mood stuck her to play, as it did now. She thought that she might buy one of the electric pianos she had seen at the music store. Sure, it wouldn't quite be the same, but Bean loved when she played and if Bean loved it, she would do it more and more.

If nothing else, Bean would be her life for along as the two were together. Lily loved her baby more than life itself.


	41. Happenstance

**A/N:** Haha… someone PM'ed me and said something along the line about 'word vomit', I have shitty spelling skills and grammar. Apparently s/he assumed I care. (laughs) I'll admit, the grammar sometimes leaves a little something to be desired, but honestly what do you expect? I have a busy life and I don't use a beta. Thank you all who have read and review. We are racing closer and closer to 400 reviews. I wonder who will be number 400! Enjoy the chapter (short but powerful). Oh, and it's mostly from Scorpius' POV. **OOHHH! 10 to 400! **

**Disc.:** By now, you know the drill.

* * *

**Happenstance**

Lily frowned when she saw that her small package had been sent back, not even opened. In Scorpius' hand writing, in crimson colored marker, almost as if etched into the package, he had written: _Return to Sender_. Lily sighed, tossing the rest of her mail on the table. She turned the package over, her hand hesitating, hovering over the flap. She wondered if Scorpius had hesitated, trying to decide if he would open it or not before he decided not to. Lily frowned and pulled the tab, opening the package. She threw the padded envelop in the wastebasket. She had been trying to give him this package since the night after the ultrasound. Several roughed up owls later and a muggle mail '_Return to Sender'_, it was back in her hands unopened.

She held the plain white wooden frame in her hand, gazing lovingly down at the perfect black and white profile of Bean. Bean kicked her hard and Lily patted her rounding stomach. It was Christmas Eve, and she had hoped, prayed, that Scorpius and she could have resolved whatever issues they had. She sighed, placing the framed ultrasound on the futon next to her as she sat down, propping her feet up on the table.

"I guess he's back from Argentina, now," Lily said aloud to no one in particular. Bean danced against her. She smiled absentmindedly rubbing her belly.

Lily glanced at the closet door where she had hanging her dress for the ball that next evening. It was an all black dress. She wasn't intending on hiding her stomach, but she didn't feel the need to advertise she was having a baby either. The dress was beautiful on her; the v-neck accentuated one of the other perks of pregnancy. Lily, for the first time ever, felt like she had a great set of breasts. Whereas before she had always been a bit disappointed that they weren't bigger, she finally had the size she always wanted. Lily wasn't naïve to think that her breast would hang around forever after Bean was born, but she was determined to show it off while she could.

Lily closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about the jewelry she had chosen to wear with the dress. Originally, she had thought about pulling her locket out of her jewelry box. She couldn't remember when she had stopped wearing it; she just remembered taking it off one morning, after having cried all night long, and dropping it into her jewelry box. What had felt appropriate and right when she was thirteen no longer felt appropriate and right to her. Seven years was a long time, and it had been seven years since Scorpius gave her that locket.

So much had changed.

Lily had settled on wearing the birthday gift Marshall had given her. It was a silver chain, delicate and ornate looking, with an oval pendant of black onyx, banded with red. It was set in silver, surrounded by small, dark red garnets, and had matching earrings in a smaller scale. Lily had a silver bracelet that she would pair with the jewelry Marshall gave her that had been her mothers. It would be simple and stated, but Lily knew it would be beautiful.

"Damn it," Lily growled as she hoisted herself up off the futon and headed to the bathroom for the millionth and third time that day. She wasn't waddling yet, but she felt big. She wasn't gone long before she was crossing the living room. She checked her watch, knowing Rose was still at work. Lily picked up the picture and stuck it in her purse. She regretted not having a fire place and chose to hike it to the ministry on foot. Half way there, she apologized to Bean and apparated to the apparation point.

"Sorry, Bean, sorry," Lily cooed sweetly to her stomach as she rubbed her belly. Bean kicked her angrily for the squeezing feeling.

She headed into the ministry, taking the lift up to the Department of Auror Affairs. She paused outside the door, wondering what the hell she was doing there. She blushed slightly, wondering if she was hoping to run into Scorpius there. She blushed harder and forced the thought from her head. The last thing she needed at the moment was to think about the fact that she still carried a flame for the father of her child, despite his desire to have nothing to do with her or their child.

Lily pushed the door open, Rose sitting at her desk. She was bent over and didn't look up from her papers until Lily cleared her throat slightly. Rose looked up, grinning and unable to hide her surprise. She stood and hugged her cousin.

"You're getting so big," Lily commented as Rose's stomach crashed against her own. Rose's eclipsed Lily's greatly, though Rose was coming to a close with her pregnancy. Six more weeks and Rose would be a mother. It was flying by so quickly. Even Lily thought so.

"Don't call the pot fat, kettle," Rose teased. Lily had to admit, her belly was getting rather round, too. "So, what brings you all the way to the D.A.A.?"

"I was in the neighborhood," Lily lied.

"Please, take a seat," Rose said as she gestured to a chair. "Lord knows I can't stand too long without it becoming an issue."

"Thank you," Lily said as she sat in the chair. "Are you excited about your baby shower?"

"You bet," Rose said grinning. "I still think that a baby shower slash New Year's Eve party is a stretch, but Billy's hoping that Tabby makes her appearance by then."

"It'd be funny if you gave birth on New Years," Lily said laughing. Rose laughed but shook her head.

"I don't have the nursery finished," Rose said. She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I am working right up until my due date."

"I don't know either," Lily said. "You don't really need to."

"Neither do you, but you know you will," Rose said.

"You get a year off, not me," Lily teased. "I have to save every precious moment I can."

"Too true," Rose said as the two slipped into a comfortable silence.

"You know, I don't think I've been here since I was a kid," Lily said as she looked around.

"Do you want a tour? This place is deader than dead," Rose said as she stood. Lily shrugged and stood. The two women walked around, cubicles everywhere. Lily barely glanced at anyone's cubicle, each one vaguely representative to its owner. Lily had her hand in her purse, her fingers twitched against the wooden frame as Rose gestured to Scorpius' desk.

"Oh, crap, the phone," Rose grumbled as she heard the distant ringing. "I'll be right back."

"Ok," Lily said as she stared at Scorpius' desk. Rose waddled off, Lily giggling at the sight before she looked back at his desk. It wasn't insanely neat, but not nearly as bad as Albus' desk. Scorpius had an empty cup of coffee on his desk, a few files resting against some book. Lily glanced at it and bit her bottom lip. It was her copy of Tom Sawyer she had lost what seemed like a life time ago. She couldn't have been older than twelve, maybe thirteen. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen it.

Lily sat down in his chair, the old leather seemed to emit his scent and warmth and Lily closed her eyes, breathing him in deeply. She felt the twisting, painful yearning in her heart. Lily could picture him here, hunched over files late at night. She pulled the framed ultrasound from her purse, hiding it under one of the files he had on his desk. She knew he'd find it eventually and this time, not be able to send it back, at least not without great effort. She laughed at the thought of Scorpius roughing up the owls that had originally tried to deliver the package before she resorted to muggle mail.

Curiously, absentmindedly, she opened one of his desk drawers. There were random sundries, nothing of noteworthiness. She closed the top drawer and opened the middle drawer, above his file drawer. She froze, unable to move. Inside the drawer was a framed photo of the two of them, taken shortly before she found out that she was pregnant. Scorpius had his arms around her, both of them were grinning madly. Like they were in love. Lily laughed quietly at the thought. She was madly in love with him, but yet this seemed like such a distant memory. She placed the picture back in the drawer, wiping away the tears that she didn't feel but she knew they were there. Sighing, she closed the drawer and headed towards the sound of Rose's voice.

"Mr. Zabini's ticket was booked three weeks ago," Rose was saying as Lily took a seat. Rose looked annoyed as she flipped through a book. "No, Mr. Zabini isn't flying out tonight; he will be flying out on December 28th."

Lily toyed with Rose's paperclips, not paying attention to her cousin. She was in the process of making a paperclip necklace when the door opened. Lily reflexively looked up and her heart slammed to a halt. It seized, the pain was crushing but in an oddly good way as her eyes met his. She took a shuddering breath, telling herself to breath for Bean's sake if not her own. She couldn't force a smile, she was frozen. Scorpius looked as shocked as Lily to stand there, his eyes on hers.

"Lily," Scorpius said finding his voice finally. He struggled for a moment, unable to think of any other words.

"Hello Scorpius," Lily said quietly. He hadn't expected her voice to sound so mature. It hadn't been all that long since the last time they talked, but he remember the last time they had talked, she had been crying, yelling.

"You look well," he said. Lily let out a sigh and nodded once.

"Thanks," she replied. Scorpius fidgeted slightly with his cell phone; half wishing that someone would call and save him from this, and half hoping that nothing would break this moment.

"Look. I said Mr. Zabini will flying out on the twenty eight. _Zabini_, Z-a-b-i-n-i!" Rose spelled slowly into the phone.

"Sounds like someone's trying to give Rose a hard time," Scorpius said chuckling. Lily glanced away, her eyes landing on Rose for a moment before she returned them to Scorpius. He frowned slightly, unhappy with the way his body seemed to want to betray him. The twisting, aching feeling in his chest caught him off guard. He had been pretty certain he had locked away those feelings.

"Yeah, well," Lily said flippantly. "Rose always gets what she wants."

"It's good that somebody does," Scorpius said under his breath almost bitterly.

"Huh?" Lily said, not having caught that. Scorpius shook his head.

"Are you going to the Ball tomorrow? Flint's hosting it," Scorpius said casually. Lily grinned and it nearly took his breath away. He had forgotten how much it affected him.

"I had the hardest time finding the right dress, but I believe I did," Lily said almost triumphantly. "What about you? Are you going?"

"I've not decided, to be honest," Scorpius said as he finally released the door. He hadn't been aware that he had been gripping it so tightly. His hand ached, but it was nothing to the pain that seemed to burning a hole into his chest from the inside out.

"You should come," Lily said hopefully, almost too hopefully. Scorpius grinned as heat rose to her face. "It just makes sense, all of us Slytherins getting together once a year to catch up."

"Are you going with anyone?" Scorpius asked curiously. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"No," Lily said. "I asked Marshall if he'd mind but the poor guy has to work."

"Oh, _so_… you and Marshall?" Scorpius said uncertainly. He felt a little queasy, his stomach twisting in anticipation of the answer.

"We're still just friends, Score," Lily laughed. Scorpius pupils dilated slightly and he was sure he was going to die. He hadn't expected her to call him _'Score'_, not since things ended so badly nearly three months prior. He watched her bite her lips slightly as her purse rang, her hand routing around in the oversized bag. He couldn't believe how much he seemed pulled to her, like two magnet attracted to each other beyond all reason.

"I… have work to do," Scorpius said suddenly. "Good seeing you again, Lily."

"You too," Lily said almost hesitantly. Scorpius couldn't stand there and look at her, Lily sitting there so pretty beside Rose's desk, her giant purse in her lap while she searched for her phone. It was too much like torture. He resisted the urge to sprint down the hall to his cubicle, instead taking his time as he listened carefully to Rose's voice, waiting for the minute she got off the phone. He ached to hear Lily's voice again. He missed her; he had been missing her since that first night.

Still, he couldn't get passed what she did.

Scorpius went to his desk, dropping his case beside it. He collapsed into the chair, vaguely aware that he could smell her all around him. It did nothing for his sanity and he dug his thumbs into his eyes, trying to press out the image of Lily biting her lip. That was what sent him over the edge, that worried, vulnerable look. It made him want to snatch her up in his arms and protect her. He grumbled at himself, berating himself for still feeling that way. The phone rang next to him, startling him.

"Malfoy," Scorpius barked into the phone, almost wishing that he had been allowed a few more perfectly torturous moments thinking about Lily.

"Hey, man, it's me," Damon said on the other end.

"Hey, what's up?" Scorpius said as he settled back in his chair a minute.

"I ran into your grandmother today and she wanted me to tell you that you'd better attend the ball tomorrow night," Damon said.

"You don't need to tell me," Scorpius promised. "She knows my number."

"Yeah, but apparently you've been avoiding her calls," Damon said as Scorpius began rearranging his files.

"I've been in Argentina, dealing with the Argentinean Vampire population explosion down there," Scorpius grumbled as he opened the drawer where Lily and his picture was hidden. He sighed.

"You're looking at her picture again, aren't you? I wish you'd not do that when we were on the phone together," Damon teased.

"Oh, shut it," Scorpius laughed. "It's a little different."

"How so?" Damon asked. Scorpius sighed.

"She was here," Scorpius said. "Visiting Rose."

"Oh, wow," Damon said.

"Yeah," Scorpius said.

"How was it? Seeing her again, I mean," Damon asked in quiet awe.

"It was a lot like hell and heaven, mixed together," Scorpius said. "A blissful sort of torture."

"Is she going tomorrow?" Damon asked.

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted as he put the picture back in the drawer. He picked up the file, looking at the white wood framed ultrasound picture that it was covering.

"I think it's a sign that you should go tomorrow night," Damon said. Scorpius picked up the picture, his eyes blurring slightly. "Scorpius? You still there, man?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked concerned. Scorpius coughed slightly, clearing his tear thickened throat.

"I think… I think Lily's trying to drive me to kill myself," Scorpius breathed. "She, or I assume it was she, who else could it be, left a framed picture of my baby's ultrasound."

"Where? On your desk?" Damon asked.

"Yeah," Scorpius said. He felt a burning deep inside, though this time it was anger and not desire. "I need to go."

"See you soon, I'm up the street," Damon said as Scorpius slammed the phone back in its cradle. He stormed back up from, wielding the framed ultrasound in his hand as if he could use it as a weapon, like it was being used against him.

"Where the hell is your bitch of a cousin?" Scorpius spat at Rose. Rose looked up at him in surprise.

"W-what? Lily?" Rose asked in utter confusion.

"Who else would I be talking about?" Scorpius asked furiously.

"She left, went home," Rose said. Scorpius slammed the framed down on Rose's desk.

"You can tell her that torture can be two way," Scorpius said. His words dripped with venom. "What's her address, Rose?"

"I'm not giving it to you," Rose said forcibly as she stood, not keen with Scorpius looming over her in a position of authority.

"Why not? She's allowed to come up in my place of work with her tools of torture," Scorpius accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose said.

"Sure," Scorpius said. He jabbed his finger toward the photo. "Maybe you and your cousin think it's funny to flaunt the picture of my poor baby, but I don't. You both can fuck yourselves for all I care."

"I… what?" Rose screeched at him. It was too late. Scorpius had snatched the photo back and stormed back to his desk. He shoved the frame into his bag and stormed out before Rose called James. James had been itching to fight Scorpius, it had been clear for months that the boys were at odds. Both were just itching for a reason, ever since Lily and Scorpius broke up.

Scorpius apparated to his grandmother's house, not keen on going back to his apartment, especially knowing full well that James would come after him once Rose told James about the outburst. Scorpius barely looked at his grandmother, just sprinted up the stairs two at a time and headed to his old room. He threw the bag on the chair, the flap flipping open just enough to show the edge of the frame. He loosened his tie, pulling it free from his neck and tossing it to the floor in anger.

He hadn't been that angry, that out of control since that night he confronted Lily about the baby. Since then, he had always kept his emotions in check. He had stayed in control. Give it to Lily to break his resolve to not let this decision she made affect him. He laughed bitterly. Who was he fooling? It affected him. He had loved Lily with all his heart. He was willing to lie down and die for her, should she command it. And then… she… broke his heart into a million little pieces.

It had been an accident that he even found out about the baby the way he did. He rationalized in the early days that she said that she was going to tell him that night. Scorpius could feel a hot, offensive tear escape his eye, tickling his cheek as it raced to his jaw line. Even the memory, three months old, burned. He hadn't seen Lily and wanted to surprise her by being there when she returned. He had let himself into her apartment.

As if yesterday, the memories came rushing back to him burning as freshly as new wounds.

_He had tossed his keys up on the table that she had by the front door and they had caught the edge and pulled a few items down into the waste basket as the keys fell in. Scorpius had shrugged, reaching in to retrieve the items. He glanced in as he grabbed his keys to see the used pregnancy test. His hands shook uncontrollably as he looked at it. It was blatantly positive. If the test wasn't enough, he saw the ultrasound pictures below his keys. He looked at them with wide-eyed wonder as he gripped the table for support. He picked them up to look at them more carefully, his perfectly formed baby staring back at him from the grainy black and white photos. A few pages of poorly balled up paper were beside it, but one word jumped out at him and he dropped the ultrasound pictures, unfolding the papers and reading about Lily's appointment notes for some muggle clinic._

_His baby. His girlfriend. That clinic. _

_Scorpius remembered looking up at the calendar mounted on the refrigerator. Her appointment at the clinic had passed while he was out of town for work. He felt sick, rushing to the spare bathroom. He willed death to ease the horror and pain, but nothing happened. He just stared at his already pale complexion go even paler and felt his insides go ice cold. Instead, he gathered everything up and placed it on the kitchen table. He vaguely filled an envelope with cash, setting it there among the evidence of Lily's crime. He was hurting and he wanted to hurt her, but he knew she'd never hurt as much as he did._

_After all, Lily never wanted to be a mother._

_Scorpius had always wanted to be a father._

_Lily had looked horrified that he already knew, horrified by his reaction. He loved Lily, but her actions were unforgiveable. This wasn't something minor that could be swept under the rug. She had made a decision that they should have made together. He'd like to think that he'd have been ok with whatever she decided had they talked and it was really what she wanted, but he knew it was a lie. His last words to her were cruel, and he left there, heading back to his grandmother's house before he was consumed with tears and grief._

_Lily had killed their child._


	42. Confounded

**A/N:** Congrats to Caity.Cullen for being reviewer #400. Thank you all of you who review. You guys are great and to get it to 400 is fantastic! You guys really are fantastic. I got a bunch of your reviews and was about to be like- Did anyone read the chapter, but then remember the chapter I was thinking was THIS one. LOL. Anyways, enjoy. You guys wanted them back together… well… you know how stubborn they've been lately. I have to get a move on this story though, otherwise you'll have all of November to wait (as I will be doing NaNo this year and will not have nearly as much time to devote).

**Disc:** You know the drill.

* * *

**Confounded**

_"Scorpius Malfoy, you will get up out of that bed and take me to the ball," Lily snapped. Scorpius looked at her, shocked that she was standing there in his bedroom, her hands on her hips. She looked good, great. Her dress hugged her body most provocatively, taunting him._

_"Lily, what are you doing in my room?" Scorpius asked. Lily laughed as she moved within arms reach, her face soft and sweet. His hand was already cupping her cheek, the girl now straddling him with wicked intent._

_"I'm ready to go to the ball, and I'm waiting on you," Lily told him. She leaned forward, her mouth near his ear. "Unless you'd rather do something else."_

_"But, Lily," Scorpius protested, his resolve crumbling._

_"I've missed you, Score," Lily breathed as her lips trailed along his jaw, hovering over his mouth. "Lils," Scorpius breathed in response pulling her roughly against him, her mouth surrendering to his as he took the offensive. He pinned her to the bed._

_"I love you," Lily moaned quietly as he moved to take her fully._

"Scorpius!" Draco barked, pulling Scorpius out of his painfully pleasant dream.

"Go away," Scorpius growled.

"Get out of bed," Draco said angrily. Scorpius felt the covers jerked from his face.

"What?" Scorpius growled.

"Did you verbally attack Rose Meyers?" Draco demanded.

"No, not really…" Scorpius said hesitantly.

"You do realize that she could press charges against you, file a formal complaint, and/or get you suspended from the task force, right?" Draco told him.

"It's complicated," Scorpius groaned.

"Did you or did you not tell her that she could go fuck herself?" Draco shouted. Scorpius swallowed, sitting up. He nodded.

"She let Lily leave something at my desk, a malicious attempt to drive me to murder," Scorpius said quickly, heatedly.

"What could a bunch of pregnant girls do to drive you to murder, Scorpius? I swear, I wonder where you got your spine from because it wasn't your mother, and it certainly wasn't me. You have ten minutes to get up, get dressed, and look presentable. You will go with your grandmother and me to the Slytherin ball," Draco growled at him, turning abruptly and heading to the chair. He jerked the frame from where it was now half hiding and held it in his hand.

"That is what they tormented me with," Scorpius said distractedly, his mind reeling.

"You know what," Draco said coldly. "We all tried to let you be with your decision to end it with Lily, in spite of it all. We figured you'd come around and make the right choices on your own. No nagging or even idle chatter from anyone, but all you've done is run. You made the wrong choice, Scorpius."

Scorpius looked up at his father as Draco placed the frame on the dresser, proudly displaying the picture.

"What?" Scorpius asked.

"You made the wrong choice, Scorpius," Draco said coolly. "Now get up, get dressed, and look presentable. You aren't hiding while the rest of the world continues to move forward. You have been taken off any assignment that will take you out of the country."

"How is that fair?" Scorpius said in outrage.

"Finally, an appropriate response!" Draco snapped at Scorpius before turning and leaving his son to wallow in his own misery. Scorpius sighed, knowing full well that in ten minutes that he would be drug from his room and to the Slytherin Ball, even if he was still naked. He had slept right through Christmas, no longer a joyful holiday for him. He thought bitterly of that as he climbed in to the shower. He had been looking forward to this Christmas. He was going to ask Lily again to marry him, there at the ball, in front of everyone. He had hoped she'd not say no, not with all those witnesses.

He looked to the top of his closet where the gift he had bought her had been thrown. It had been during his first trip to Argentina and he had bought her a hand woven blanket, made from the softest llama hair. It felt like melted butter against the skin and had been dyed the color of sunshine, bright yellow. He knew that she would love it. He hesitated before he dressed in his finest, knowing that he would eventually get it to her. Despite what she had done to him, he couldn't deny that he loved her wholly.

"You'd better be ready," Draco snapped as he entered Scorpius' room.

"I am," Scorpius said crossly. "You know, you don't have to treat me like a child."

"You've been acting like one, so I'll treat you as I see it," Draco said. Scorpius was tempted to stick his tongue out at his father, a slip to his youthful days of old. He contained the very childish urge and the two joined Narcissa to catch a carriage that would carry them down the lane towards Flint Manor. The snow was thick, clinging to everything in sight with desperation.

"Please, Scorpius, behave," Narcissa said quietly. "I haven't needed to tell you that in years but tonight, I just have a feeling that I need to warn you to mind your manners and behave yourself."

"I do have some self control, Gran," Scorpius said sighing as he stepped out of the carriage.

Flint Manor had been decorated in the green and silver Slytherin colors, everything polished to a reflective sheen. Scorpius had played here as a child, when their grandmothers used to visit. He knew every nook and cranny of this house, every quiet place to hide. As soon as he could ditch his dad and grandmother, he was going to hide out for a few hours and claim he was mingling. Instead he was going grab some elf-made wine and drink away his sadness, at least until the pain was a little number.

"I see Ignatius Traylor," Malfoy whispered as he placed his hand on Scorpius' shoulder before disappearing in to the crowd. Scorpius had vaguely remembered his dad saying that he needed to talk to the man. Narcissa and Scorpius continued forward chatting with friends and acquaintances that they saw every year at this party.

"I'm going off to find Flora Flint," Narcissa said quietly. "Think you can keep from verbally attacking people."

"I didn't verbally attack Rose," Scorpius said through gritted teeth. Narcissa raised her delicate eyebrow at him before she swept away. Damon was suddenly standing there beside him.

"How does it go?" Damon asked as the two surveyed the room.

"My family thinks I am unhinged," Scorpius said.

"You have to admit, your behavior has been erratic at best," Damon said as he claimed a glass of something violently green and smoking from a roving house elf.

"Not you, too," Scorpius said.

"Look, man, I've lived with you since we were eleven," Damon said quietly. "I notice more than most would. Lately though, you've been a bit unstable."

"It's Lily's fault," Scorpius said. Damon looked at him in surprise.

"How is it Lily's fault? Last you both were claiming, you broke up with her," Damon said. Scorpius grunted.

"I did," Scorpius said.

"Well, man, you never did say why you broke up with her. One day you guys were stressed but still hanging in there, the next you dumped her and were on the first plane to Argentina. You have to admit from the outside, you look like the bad guy. From the outside, it just looks like you dumped your pregnant girl friend and jumped ship," Damon said dismissively. "To everyone, you look like an ass."

"Well, shit, she wasn't pregnant anymore," Scorpius said. "I wasn't the bad guy."

"What do you mean she wasn't pregnant anymore," Damon asked as he looked at Scorpius frowning.

"I mean hell, how'd you know she was pregnant anyways?" Scorpius said as he ignored Damon's question.

"Lily being pregnant is kind of common knowledge," Damon said looking at him in disbelief.

"I guess to add salt to the wound," Scorpius said as he took a fire whiskey from the nearest elf and threw it back in a single gulp.

"I think you might have your facts wrong, Scorpius," Damon said slowly as he processed the information. "You broke up with Lily because she was pregnant or wasn't pregnant?"

"What does it matter?" Scorpius hissed at him, irate.

"Did you and Lily ever sit down and talk?" Damon asked. Scorpius gave him a scathing look. "Of course not, right. You two broke up and you left for Argentina."

"Yeah, of which I'm now travel blocked because of Lily and Rose's little stunt back at D.A.A.; leaving shit for me to find so I'd lose my temper," Scorpius growled. "Oh, look. There's Lily now. Perhaps she and I should sit down and talk now."

"You have to calm the fuck down, Scorpius," Damon warned, looking at his friend. He grabbed Scorpius arm roughly. "You can't go running after people, shouting and screaming at them."

"Oh, because it's not polite?" Scorpius said sarcastically. Damon looked at him, bewildered.

"You honestly don't know, do you?" Damon said.

"Know what?" Scorpius growled.

"I mean I had suspected that you might not be fully aware, but this… this makes so much sense," Damon said more to himself than to Scorpius.

"What the hell are you blabbering about?" Scorpius said annoyed.

"Look, what did Lily leave for you at the office?" Damon asked. Scorpius frowned.

"A framed ultrasound picture," Scorpius said.

"Answer me this, did you look at the date on it?" Damon asked.

"The date?" Scorpius said. He felt a little of his anger dissipating and that annoyed him.

"To see when it was taken?" Damon prompted.

"I know when it was taken," Scorpius said crossly. "I took one just like it that night I broke up with her." Damon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly.

"Are you sure it was from back in early October?" Damon asked. Scorpius frowned at him.

"Of course it was," Scorpius said. "When else would it have been from?"

"Dude, seriously?" Damon said as a smile crossed his face. He was laughing, which annoyed and confused Scorpius. He didn't like to feel like the butt of a joke, which he was feeling very much like at the moment.

"What?" Scorpius demanded. Damon shook his head.

"No, this isn't my place," Damon said as he grabbed Scorpius' arm. "You and Lily Potter need to have yourselves a little chat. Which way did you see her go?"

"I don't know," Scorpius said jerking his arm away from Damon. "And I can walk without assistance, thank you very much."

"Oh, I think I see her," Damon said as he ignored Scorpius. Scorpius looked to where Damon was looking and sure enough, Lily was sitting at a table near the open doors. Next to her was that Marshall Clocks, the one person Scorpius should have expected Lily to bring to ball.

"She said she wasn't bringing him," Scorpius said as he made his way over to the table. Damon and Scorpius stood on the opposite side of the table. Marshall looked a little cold there by the partially opened doors but he wasn't complaining. He was candidly listening to Lily talk. Scorpius watched her for a quick second, her face was slightly flushed and she was fanning herself despite the open door. She glanced at Scorpius. At the same time, Marshall did and he stood quickly.

"Look, Scorpius, no one wants any trouble," Marshall said quickly. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him.

"I thought you had to work, _Healer_," Scorpius said with a taunting infliction on the last word.

"My father wasn't going to let me come here without a chaperone because of your stunt at the ministry," Lily said chastising. "Marshall took the night off, worked a double yesterday, so that he could accompany me here. How could you yell at poor Rose?"

"I didn't attack… er, well… I did yell," Scorpius said. He had been prepared for the 'I-did-not-attack' defense, but Lily had used 'yelled' and he had to admit, he did yell at Rose.

"Still, there's no need. If you wanted my address, you could have accept one of the packages I sent you or even look at some of the mail that comes to your apartment," Lily said dismissively as she tugged on Marshall's coat slightly. "Do you mind terribly if you can get me another drink? I'm parched."

"Uh…" Marshall said looking at Scorpius. Damon stepped forward slightly.

"I'll keep things civilly between these two while you're gone, Marshall," Damon promised. Marshall looked at Lily reluctantly but she smiled and patted his hand.

"Damon can be my knight in shining armor until you return," Lily promised. Marshall hesitated a moment longer before nodding.

"I'll get you something to eat, too," Marshall promised. "I'll be right back."

"No rush, Marsh," Lily said smiling. She watched him leave before she looked back at Scorpius. "So, why did you yell at my very pregnant cousin, Scorpius?"

"I…" Scorpius said opening his mouth to speak.

"Lily," Damon cut him off. "Scorpius doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" Lily asked. "Why he yelled at my cousin? That's a hell of a defense."

"I don't need a defense," Scorpius snapped. "You know what you did."

"Gee, you two are both dense," Damon said. He looked at Lily, crossing to her side of the table. He commanded her. "Lily, stand up."

"Why?" Lily said. "My feet hurt."

"Just do it," Damon directed. She looked at him sourly.

"Dude, she doesn't have to stand to talk to me," Scorpius huffed.

"Stand up," Damon demanded sharply though his voice wasn't very loud.

"Fine," Lily snapped at him. She struggled to her feet and stood there. "Happy? I'm standing and uncomfortable."

"Notice anything about Lily?" Damon asked Scorpius. "Perhaps about the way she looks?"

"You… look nice tonight," Scorpius said confused. He looked at Lily. He had to admit. She did look good. Her hair was up in a simple knot with a few wisps of her auburn hair having escaped and decidedly framing her face; she was wearing simple jewelry, nothing he'd have ever gotten her but it did look good on her. He did feel a little dejected that she wasn't wearing his locket anymore though it was kind of expected. It would have been creepier if she was still wearing the locket, he decided.

"Does Lily look like she's put on a bit of weight?" Damon asked Scorpius.

"Hey!" Lily protested as she put her hands on her hip. That motion drew his eyes away from her face to her midsection. He felt his insides turn to ice. His heart seized and stuttered to a halt. His eyes fired signal after signal at his now dead brain as the evidence of a pregnant Lily stood before him. She wasn't huge, not like Rose, and the dress was slightly deceiving he decided, but the evidence was there, staring at him in the face.

"You're pregnant," Scorpius said as suddenly his whole body caught up with his eyes. His heart took off running, the iced sunk to the pit of his stomach. All kinds of signals fired left and right in his brain. Lily looked at him, surprise unmasked on his face, echoing in his wide eyes.

"Yes," Lily said as she looked at him. Her own mind was reeling. Suddenly, that look of sheer surprise and shock on his face had each once random puzzle pieces fell into place. Her hand went to her mouth, tears sprung to her eyes. "You… you didn't know?"

"No," Scorpius breathed.

"How could you not?" Lily asked shaking her head. "Surely someone would have mentioned something. I sent you the ultrasound from a few weeks ago."

"I… I don't know," Scorpius said in the same quiet shock.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Damon said excusing his self quickly, catching Marshall on his way back to the table to explain.

"No, that doesn't make any sense," Scorpius said shaking his head. "I saw the ultrasound picture, saw the date and notes for the appointment at that clinic. I saw it."

"You thought I had terminated because you saw some notes on a piece of paper?" Lily asked. Scorpius couldn't pull his eyes away from her stomach, almost certain that it was some sort of joke.

"What was I supposed to think?" Scorpius asked.

"You could have tried talking to me," Lily said as her voice shook for a moment. He tore his eyes from her stomach and met her eyes.

"You… you think I broke up with you _because_ you were pregnant!" Scorpius said in quiet realization as the words answered the question themselves. She didn't need to reply, he already knew the answer.  
"You were pretty convincing that you wanted nothing more with me," Lily breathed. Her voice was shaky.

"Is this some sort of trick?" Scorpius asked suddenly. "Am I still asleep?"

"No," Lily said sadly. She was crying. She hated that she was crying, he could tell. She looked almost angry about the tears.

"Don't cry, please," Scorpius begged.

"I have done this all on my own for all these weeks because you didn't talk to me," Lily cried. "I tried to talk to you and you slammed the door of communication in my face."

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said as he handed her a tissue. They were standing side by side, almost hidden from the rest of the room.

"You're sorry? You're sorry?" Lily said as her voice raised an octave. "I have our child growing in me and for the past eleven weeks, I have thought that you didn't want anything to do with me because of Bean."

"Bean?" Scorpius asked laughingly. Lily glared at him.

"How could you do this to me, Scorpius?" Lily asked. "You said that you loved me, and then you left me when I needed you most."

"Lils, please," Scorpius begged. "Let me make it up to you."

"It's too late, Scorpius," Lily cried as she touched her stomach. "There's no going back to where we were before. I loved you with everything I was and you threw that all away. You wouldn't even hear me out."

"Please," Scorpius said as he stepped forward.

"No, Malfoy, no," Lily said as she raised her hand, halting him. She shook her head. "I can't do this. No."

"Lily, please be reasonable," Scorpius begged again. She slapped him hard.

"Be reasonable, you say? Where was your reason when you tore out my heart and stomped it into the ground? That's what I thought, Malfoy," Lily spat at him. She caught Marshall coming up quickly to her left. She turned to him. "I'm ready to go now. I've finally had destroyed what little happiness that I had left about this whole situation."

* * *

Lily undressed faster than she had ever been able to, tearing the dress from her body in shreds. Her finger nails bit into her skin, raking marks left behind as she tore the black fabric. The scraps fluttered down around her feet. She roughly pulled the jewelry off and threw it onto her dresser, ignoring the delicate carved boxes it crashed into. She wouldn't think of him, not now. She was so angry and so hurt. All these weeks, he had thought the worst of her. If he had only taken a moment to listen to her, all of this pain could have been avoided.

Lily wanted nothing more than to throw herself onto the ground kicking and screaming, but she couldn't. She was afraid that she might squish Bean in the process and anything that would hurt her baby wasn't worth it; even it made her feel better. Instead, Lily pulled on one of her softer night gowns and climbed into bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and willed sleep to come. Sleep was elusive; Lily spent the better part of the night tossing and turning. Sometime well before dawn, she finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

She wasn't alone when she awoke, even though it was darker than sin in the room and she hadn't opened her eyes yet, she could hear the rhythmic breathing beside her. For a moment she reveled in the warmth of the body next to her. She sighed then suddenly tensed. She had gone to bed alone. She screamed shoving the person away as hard as she could while she scrambled out of bed. The bedside lamp flipped on, filling the small room with a pale light. Marshall looked at her in sleepy shock.

"Wha?" He said sleepily.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Lily demanded. He looked slightly affronted and confused.

"You called me last night and begged me to come back," Marshall said slowly. "I tried to go to sleep on the couch, but your crying was… distracting." Lily closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. She did vaguely remember making a call to him. She had been upset. She blushed slightly.

"I… I'm sorry," Lily said shaking her head. She hesitated.

"You've had a rough night," Marshall said yawning. "I called out for you."

"No, I really can't afford to," Lily protested.

"I used one of my sick days, Lily," Marshall yawned again. "You're covered."

"Marshall, you really didn't have to," Lily said. Marshall grinned.

"I know," he said shrugging. "I just wanted to. You really need to take it easier on yourself."

"I'll try," Lily murmured. Marshall moved to get up. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the futon," Marshall said. Lily bit her lip.

"Do you have to?" Lily asked. Marshall looked at her as he stood on the other side of her bed. He was wearing sweat pants and a tee shirt. He shook his head slowly.

"I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about us, Lils. We both made it clear that you and I are only friends," Marshall said. Lily nodded.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Lily said as she looked away. Marshall sighed.

"Ok, fine," Marshall said as he climbed back into bed. He flipped back the covers in invitation to Lily. "It's not like I mind anyways. It's nice to share some body heat with a friend."

"Thanks Marshall," Lily said quietly as she climbed back in bed next to him. He grinned slightly before flicking off the light.

"You know, though, if you and I ever decide to stop being friends, it'd probably kill me," Marshall said. He added, "Unless, of course if it was to become more."

"Good night Marshall," Lily laughed. She yawned and snuggled against him. His hand instinctively went to her stomach. She felt a pang of sadness, thinking that the person she should be snuggled up with should be Scorpius. His hand should be on their baby. Bean kicked hard in agreement.


	43. Auld Lang Syne

**A/N: **I just want to let you guys know that I have slipped up on several occasions and accidentally used the baby's pronoun gender several times. I've changed them back, but hopefully I didn't miss one. I want the baby's gender to be a surprise, so hopefully I've caught all the s/he's… (ha-ha, that still doesn't tell you which one it is). Thank you to everyone who is reviewing and I promise to catch up with all of my replies soon. I need some sleep; aside from a two hour nap, I've not slept in the past day and a half.

**Disc.:** We know what I created and what I didn't.

* * *

**Auld Lang Syne**

Lily held the box in her right hand; her wand in her left. She hated riding the Knight bus, but it was the easiest thing she could think of traveling without a fireplace or having one connected to the floo network. The bus ride would be jostling to say the least, though the newest driver did seem to handle the triple-decker bus a little more carefully on her more recent trips on the bus. She found her seat quickly; her overnight back removed and placed at her feet on the floor. She planned on staying the night at Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron's house, not wanting to deal with the inebriated witches and wizards on her way home. The WWN had been running air adverts all week discouraging FWI, and while she hoped no one was stupid enough to _fly while intoxicated_, she knew folks had to get home some way.

The houses never seemed to change in Lily's old neighborhood, which was a little comforting. She always knew what to expect. She stepped off the bus in front of the house, snow clinging to her boots. She grinned as she looked at her aunt and uncle's home. It looked like an iced ginger bread house, one that had been attacked by pink and silver ribbons and streamers. Lily huffed her way up to the front door, finding it weird to ring the doorbell to a door that, as a small girl, she'd just walk right in. Hermione was there, embracing Lily and almost knocking the box from her arms.

"How was the ride?" Hermione asked. Lily grinned.

"It was good," Lily said as she regained control over the box. She handed it to Hermione as she stepped inside the door and began to disrobe from her heavy parka and her boots, tossing her bag aside where it wouldn't get trampled. Under her winter wear, she was wearing a simple pair of black pants and a button up top. She already had her eye on a few of Rose's cute outfits that Rose would shortly no longer be able to fit into.

"Lily!" Rose cheered as she wrapped her arm around her in a loose sideways hug. The girls laughed, their bellies preventing a more proper hug. "You have to see this living room."

Lily walked into the Weasley's living room to see that it honestly looked as if the house had been attacked by a maniac wielding pink everything. It looked so girly and lacy. Lily glanced at her father, who was talking with Uncle Ron. He smiled at her and Lily left Rose's side to talk to her father. He was sportingly donning a tiara as were all of the other party guests.

"They tricked us, I want you to know," Ron grumbled as he jabbed his tiara with his finger. Lily giggled.

"How so?" Lily asked.

"They told us that this would be a New Years Eve party as well, tricked us into wearing these silly tiaras, and then George applied a sticking charm to all of them without warning us and now, we have these darn tiara's stuck!" Ron implored. George chuckled as he walked by.

"Another successful prank," George chuckled again.

"Here you go, George," Harry said quickly, snapping a spare one on George's head. Lily laughed as George caught his reflection in the mirror.

"I make pink tiaras look good," George commented. He turned to Lily. "How are you, Lily? Staying out of trouble?"

"What fun is that?" Lily said grinning. George laughed and held out a tiara for her. Lily took it and proudly placed it on her head. Rose walked up next to them; her own special tiara looked more like a crown. Rose and Lily laughed.

"That's my girl," he laughed again. "See, good to see someone willing to have a little fun."

"Always, Uncle George," Lily said grinning.

"We'll have to think of something fun and spectacular for your baby shower," George said. Lily's smile faltered.

"I'm not planning on having a baby shower," Lily said shaking her head.

"You have to!" Rose said. "You know Grandma Weasley isn't going to let you escape pregnancy without one."

"No, I'm not," Grandma Weasley said as she flitted by the two girls. "Now George, I hope these tiaras aren't permanent."

"No, no. I couldn't very well sell permanently sticking tiaras," George said. "They'll fall off in about twelve hours."

"Great," Grandma Weasley said as she patted his cheek. "My clever little boy."

"Very funny, Mum," George said grinning.

More and more party guests arrived and Lily sat back, watching. She hadn't been in Gryffindor, so she didn't know many of Rose's friends from school. The house was pretty full when Rose's coworkers started to arrive. Shale and Nina slid between several people, finding Lily tucked in a corner nibbling on some crackers and cheese. Shale hugged her, careful not to squeeze Lily too tightly. Nina was beaming.

"We're pregnant!" Nina blurted out to Lily, causing the girl to drop her cracker and to cheer excitedly for her two friends.

"Wow, how far along are you?" Lily asked.

"About eight weeks," Nina said grinning.

"Oh, wow guys. Congratulations," Lily grinned back. She looked at Shale. He was grinning and beaming at his wife, his arm wrapped around her protectively. The simple look they shared emitted the warm glow of love and Lily felt a knot form in her throat.

"We're truly blessed," Shale said. He looked at Lily. "Since we have you to thank for hooking us up, we want to know if you'd be willing to be our baby's Godmother."

"Me?" Lily choked out. Tears welled up in her eyes and she and Nina hugged again.

"Does that mean yes? I don't speak crying pregnant woman," Shale asked. Lily and Nina both laughed, dabbing tissues at their eyes.

"Yes, of course," Lily said. "I'd be honored."

"Thank you," Shale said hugging Lily again. He held her a little firmer than before, longer, as he added in a whisper. "Thank you for everything, Lily. If it wasn't for you, I'd not have Nina and I'd not be on my way to fatherhood."

"You're welcome," Lily whispered back and they parted. She grinned as she looked at Nina.

"Do you mind if I?" Nina asked as she stretched her hand out towards Lily's watermelon belly. Lily laughed.

"Most people don't ask," Lily said grinning. "Please, go ahead."

Shale and Nina both placed their hands on Lily's stomach. They smiled as Bean did its acrobatics and crazy ninja stunts on the inside. Lily could feel them on the inside and the out; she could feel more of motions the bigger her baby got. The two retrieved their hands and looked at Lily in awe. Shale glanced at Nina and headed off to get something to eat at Nina's nod.

"How are you doing this?" Nina asked quietly in a non-prying way. "All of this on your own?"

"It's been ok, really," Lily said. It had been, aside from being terribly lonely. Sure she had Rose and Marshall to fall back on but that could only hold her off so long.

"If you ever need anything, you'll let me know, right?" Nina asked. Lily nodded with a smile.

"Of course," Lily said knowing full well she'd not. She had great friends, but it wasn't fair to constantly lean on others.

"Lily," Damon said as he came up holding a plate of some random food. Lily smiled though it was a strained sort of way.

"Hello Damon," Lily said. Nina had already begun edging away. "I'll catch up with you later Nina."

"I look forward to it," Nina said as she disappeared into the crowd.

"You look like you're doing pretty well," Damon said as he cast a critical eye at Lily. "Are you sleeping?"

"As much as the next twenty-four week pregnant woman," Lily said smiling weakly.

"Well, pregnancy suits you," Damon said. Lily scoffed. "No, seriously Lily. You've always been a very beautiful girl, but pending motherhood is fitting on you."

"Thanks, I think," Lily said laughing. Damon grinned and held the plate out to her.

"Want some?" he asked. Lily looked at the treats and reached for a brownie.

"Not that," Damon said shaking his head. "Has fire whiskey in it."

"Oh, thanks," Lily said as she pulled back. "What would you recommend?"

"Carrot cake," Damon said. "That way you're at least getting some vegetables."

"Thanks," Lily said rolling her eyes as she took the carrot cake and took a bite. She swallowed it. "How's Scorpius?" Damon looked at her in surprise, obviously thrown off by her question.

"Um, he's… ok…" Damon said. "He and Rose had to do some peer mediation thing. He apologized profusely to Rose and things are back to normal at work."

"Is he away?" Lily asked. She blushed at the question, wondering why suddenly she was asking so many questions about him all of a sudden. Damon looked at her with the same question in his eyes.

"No, he's here," Damon said. Lily looked at him, frowning in confusion.

"Here?" she asked. "_Here_-here?

"Yeah, all of the D.A.A. was invited to the baby shower-New Years Eve party," Damon said. Lily's eyes went wide.

"He's here?" Lily asked almost in a panic. Damon touched her shoulder, looking into her eyes deeply.

"Calm down, Lily," Damon told her. "Everyone already told him not to approach you. He's the one who messed up here, not you. You seek him out when you're ready. He promised to let you come to him in your own time, on your own terms."

"I'm ok," Lily promised. "I'm not afraid of him. I just don't know what to say."

"Time heals all," Damon said as he glanced up from his plate and looked at someone across the room. Lily's gaze traveled to the person Damon was looking at. Her eyes landed on Scorpius.

"I don't think enough time has passed," Lily mumbled as she looked away.

"Like I said, in your own time," Damon said as he nodded once and headed away from Lily. She was suddenly tired and knew that Aunt Hermione had prepared the small bedroom upstairs for Lily to use. Lily went to head towards the stairs, but was blocked by well meaning people, wanting to chat and touch Bean. The room became stifling hot with all of the extra bodies and Lily slipped out the side door, through the garage and out the rear door of the garage, crashing right into someone hard as her foot hit a bit of ice just outside the door. She fell back towards the cement of the garage floor, only to be caught.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked in concern as he kept his arms around her to right her.

"Yes," Lily said tersely. He hesitated before releasing her.

"Um," Scorpius said as he moved away from her. "I doubt you came out here looking for me. I'll leave you be."

"You don't have to go," Lily said suddenly. They both looked surprised by her suddenness. Lily's face flushed slightly.

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked. Lily nodded once as she leaned against the side of the house. The door was now closed, the space between them just three feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Lily said.

"You look good," Scorpius said. "Are you cold?"

"Quite the opposite," Lily said. "It was too hot in there. All of those people."

"Understandable," he said. He looked at his hands. "I apologized to Rose about my behavior."

"That was the right thing to do," Lily admitted. "Rose has been nothing but good. You do know she was the one who talked me out of ending the pregnancy, right?"

"I didn't know that," Scorpius said after a moment. He exhaled in defeat. "I guess I need to really make it up to her, since I have her to thank for that."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Rose, I wouldn't have Bean," Lily said as her hand caressed her stomach. Scorpius watched for a moment.

"May I?" he asked hesitantly as his eyes remained fixated at her blossoming stomach. His eyes flickered up to hers, pleading.

"Sure," Lily said in her own quiet hesitation. She watched him carefully walk towards her. Lily could see his uncertainty and his hesitation as he stood less than a few feet away. He out stretched his hand slowly. His finger tips brushed the fabric of her shirt before he placed his hand solidly against her stomach. Bean was still.

"I… I don't feel anything," Scorpius said. Lily frowned slightly.

"Marshall talks to Bean to get the ninja-ing started," Lily suggested. Scorpius made a displeased face at the mention of Marshall but lowered his head a little, directing his voice toward the baby's home.

"Um… hello baby," Scorpius said. "Um. Hope the weather's nice in there and Lily's taking care of you good." The two waited, and yet Bean didn't stir.

"Maybe Bean is sleeping," Lily suggested as he withdrew his hand. "They do that, I hear, sleep and wake and what not."

"I guess you and I really need to take a bit of time and sit down, you know, to talk about things. Properly, like we should have done in the beginning," Scorpius said. Lily nodded.

"I wanted to," Lily reminded him gently.

"I know," Scorpius said. He opened his mouth to say something but a commotion on the inside of the house drew Scorpius and Lily's curiosity. The two headed back inside to see the house in chaotic uproar. Scorpius snagged Damon as he rushed past them.

"What's going on?" Lily asked quickly as she glanced around.

"Rose went to sit down and instead, she broke her water," Damon said gleefully. Lily's eyes shot open wide.

"Lily Luna Potter! I'm going to kill you for this!" Rose could be clearly heard. Lily laughed and pushed forward to her panting cousin. "You did this to me!"

"Hey, I didn't get you pregnant!" Lily laughed. Rose glowered at her.

"No, but you thought it'd be so damn funny if I went into labor tonight," Rose groaned.

"Well, at least the nursery's done, right?" Lily teased lightly as everyone moved out of their way. "You want me to come with you?"

"No room in the car," Billy said in panic. Rose grabbed Lily's shirt.

"Look, you wished this on me, you'd better not leave me with these people," Rose growled. Scorpius touched Rose's shoulder.

"I'll drive her there," Scorpius promised. Rose looked at Lily, suddenly more concerned for her cousin than her sharp labor pains.

"It's ok, Rose," Lily promised. "I'll be there shortly."

Lily and the others watched as Rose, Ron, Hermione, and Billy left in a hurry. The roar of talking and laughing around them was nearly deafening as the spilled out into the streets. It was Uncle George that thought they should take the tiara party on the road and have a right good introduction to Baby Meyers there at the hospital. In threes and fours, the cars were suddenly packed with people and food, intending on heading to the hospital.

Scorpius touched Lily's arm, causing her to turn and look up at him. He held her coat for her and a set of keys. The two headed to his two passenger car and Lily smirked. He was no more capable of hauling their baby around than she was. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks as he silently opened the door for her. The little black car was speedy as Scorpius drove it to the hospital, finding only one parking spot on the far side of the parking deck.

"Lily," Scorpius said quietly as Lily moved to get out of the car. She let her hand fall away from the latch, looking at him.

"Yes?" Lily said quietly.

"I am so sorry I hurt and disappointed you," Scorpius said quietly. "I should have been a better man for you."

"I…" Lily said as she looked at him. She didn't know what to say. She felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins and she suddenly felt the urge, a pull, to kiss him. She could pretend all she wanted that she was still angry and bitter about the situation, and a part of her was, but deep down, she just wanted to have a family. She secretly wondered if she might want to be married, might want to be Scorpius' wife. She shook her head a second.

"I know, words can't make up for what I said and did, only actions," Scorpius said with a sigh. "Look, let's get in here, watch your cousin have her baby, and then we can talk some more. We both need to talk about this rationally."

"Ok," Lily said quietly as she climbed free of the car. She looked at him over the roof of the car smirking. "You know, I have always been rational about this situation."

"I highly doubt that," Scorpius teased as the two of them walked side by side toward the entrance of the hospital. Their hands bumped a few times, their fingers ice cold from the snowy air, but Lily couldn't help but think that it reminded her of a distant time, so long ago, where she and Scorpius had walked much this same way.

* * *

Tabitha Grace was beautiful. Plain and simple, she was adorable even though she was a little battle worn from her birth. Lily looked at Rose cradling the infant in her arm and Lily couldn't believe there could ever be a stronger love than a mother with her newborn infant in her arms. Rose had eyes for no other person. Lily couldn't help the happy tears that welled up in her eyes. Five weeks early, Tabitha was a little on the small size, hovering in the mid six pounds zone, but was perfectly healthy. Lily laughed when she realized that everyone was still wearing their tiaras, the twelve hours having not quite passed. Tabitha Grace Meyers was born at twelve oh three in the morning, New Years Day.

"Let me give you a lift home," Scorpius said to Lily as the girl swayed slightly in exhaustion. Lily looked up at him in surprise, certain that he would have left by then. "It'll give us a chance to talk."

"I don't think we can resolve all of our issues in one night, Scorpius," Lily told him. He laughed quietly.

"No, I doubt we could, but maybe a start if nothing else," he said. He looked at her expectantly. "So, a ride?"

"Sure, but I left my bag at my aunt and uncle's house," Lily said quietly.

"I'll send someone to get it for you," Scorpius said. Lily sighed and nodded, consenting to the ride home. Within a few minutes, the two were back in the small, black car and were cruising towards Lily's apartment. Scorpius glanced at Lily as they entered Blevins. "You live in Blevins?"

"Yeah," Lily said as she continued to stare out the windshield. She pointed to a building that butted up against the small park. Scorpius parked and Lily invited him up to talk.

Scorpius' eyes scanned the small but clean apartment. Lily excused herself to change quickly. She returned shortly after, dressed in short and a tee shirt. The tiara was still perched on her head and Scorpius couldn't help but grin.

"Twelve hours my ass," Lily grumbled as she sat down on the opposite end of the futon from Scorpius. She tucked her leg under her and turned to look at him.

"Where is the baby going to sleep?" Scorpius asked. Lily stood and gestured for him to follow her. Scorpius complied and found himself unexpectedly in her room.

"I was thinking of getting a portable crib and putting it up against this wall here," Lily said. Scorpius quickly measured the space in his mind, knowing anything she put in there would be a tight squeeze.

"You know, since this baby is a Malfoy, you're more than welcome to use the Malfoy family cradle," Scorpius said quietly. "It would fit in that space perfectly and would give you a few months before you needed to get a crib of any kind."

"That's very generous of you," Lily said as she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the space she had cleared.

"Maybe you remember what it looks like? Dark cherry wood. I know it has some linens," Scorpius said. "I could have my grandmother get them together."

"That'd be nice," Lily said honestly. Scorpius stood against the wall, looking at her.

"Do you know what you're having?" Scorpius asked.

"No," Lily said shaking her head. "But we do need to talk about that. During the ultrasound, they found a problem with the baby's heart. They think it might be sign of some sort of chromosomal issue."

"Might? Can't they do some further testing?" Scorpius asked curiously. Lily shuddered slightly.

"Yeah, a giant needle being rammed through me towards my baby," Lily said as she poked her stomach dramatically with her finger. "I declined it, so you know. I decided that it didn't matter to me if my baby wasn't perfect, Bean is perfect to me."

"I see," Scorpius said quietly.

"Don't worry," Lily said ruefully. "I don't plan on tarnishing the Malfoy name. I'm giving Bean my last name."

"Potter? But Bean's a Malfoy," Scorpius protested vehemently. "Bean is just as much my child as yours."

"Look, I'm trying to do what is going to be easiest on Bean," Lily said with a hint of annoyance.

"I don't know what you think, but I intend to be a very big part of my child's life," Scorpius said angrily. "Damaged goods or not, Bean is my baby too."

"You… you want to be a part of the baby's life?" Lily asked quietly after a large space of time passed in silence between them. "Even if our child isn't perfect, healthy, and whole?"

"Yes," Scorpius said forcibly. "I love our baby."

Bean kicked enthusiastically, the rippling movement visible through Lily's shirt. Scorpius looked at it in awe.

"Is that Bean?" Scorpius said as he closed the distance between him and Lily. Lily looked down and nodded, amazed that Bean was dancing around so much to be able to see the movements through her skin and shirt. Scorpius kneeled before Lily, his hands pressed against Lily's belly.

"I think Bean likes you," Lily breathed as Scorpius pressed his cheek against Lily's stomach.

"Hello, Bean," Scorpius said quietly. Bean hesitated. "I'm your daddy and I will be here for you, no matter what. I love you."

Bean went wild, kicking and dancing around inside of Lily. Scorpius looked up at Lily in awe. Lily smiled at him, exhausted. She shifted from one foot to the other. Scorpius stood.

"I'm tired, but feel free to keep talking to our baby," Lily said as she pulled back the covers on her bed and climbed underneath. "Just make sure you lock up when you leave. Two taps on the lock."

"Mind if I sit on the bed next to you?" Scorpius asked. Lily's eyes were already closed and she made a noncommittal wave of her hand as Scorpius flipped out the light. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the bed next to Lily. He rested his face against Lily's belly gently, murmuring nonsense to the baby that lived within her. After a few minutes, he was aware that Lily's breathing had become deep and rhythmic. He glanced up at her, the slightest light from the moon lighting the room just enough for Scorpius to see that Lily was very much asleep. He reached up, touching her cheek with his fingers before removing the tiara from her head. He silently tossed it onto the night stand and pressed his face against her belly again.

"Bean, are you awake?" Scorpius asked. As if answering him, Bean kicked. "I love your mother. We have to figure out a way to prove it to her though. Any ideas?" The baby kicked a few times then stopped. Scorpius chuckled and kissed Lily's belly before rising out of the bed. He slipped his shoes on and headed out of Lily's bedroom. He was tempted to sleep on the futon so that he could be here in the morning when she woke, but he had something he needed to do. He closed Lily's apartment door and tapped the lock twice before heading downstairs and getting into his car. With a roar of the engine, Scorpius pulled away from the curb and drove like a mad man on a mission away from Blevins and straight to Malfoy Manor.


	44. Think About It

**A/N:** MV asked me if this was just another story arc or if the story was starting to wrap up. To be honest, I am on the fence about that. On the one hand, I could probably continue this on for the rest of time, on the other, there is such a thing as knowing when to call it quits. So, at the moment, the length is undetermined. I do have a good idea of which I will choose, but nothing is set in stone. I did want to wrap it up before Nov 1st, but that date is not set in stone (and I refuse to rush), so… if it's not, know that Nov updates will be sporadic at best. Oh, and some of these things that happen in the chapter… I swear to Merlin that I didn't see coming. I only have so much control over characters. Wow, the reviews are great, guys, by the way. We surpassed 450! Keep it up! And thank you to those who have recommended this story to your friends.

**Disc.:** The characters are borrowed for our delight.

* * *

**Think About It**

He had kept his word, she decided as she looked at her overnight bag on the table. Scorpius had, indeed, either retrieved it himself or sent for it. Lily sighed as she shuffled into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of juice. She was working the day shift today and that irritated her. Day shift meant that all kinds of family would be in and out all day, hell bent on sticking with their New Year's resolutions to visit their ill and unstable relatives in the Critical Curse Unit. Lily smirked, knowing by February, that would be swept under the rug, another failed resolution forgotten.

Lily carried her juice into the bathroom, disrobing and staring at her full length mirror that she had attached to the back of the door. She looked absolutely the same as ever, aside from being a little fuller breasted and of course looking as if she had swallowed a whole watermelon. She frowned as she traced with a finger one of her newest pregnancy side effects: a stretch mark. She shook her head and gently prodded her stomach.

"You're worth it, Bean, but let's try to limit these, ok?" Lily told her stomach. Bean squirmed slightly and Lily laughed. "You should be embarrassed. How will I ever wear a two piece?"

She knew that some women had it much worse. Rose had blown up so quickly with Tabby that her stomach looked as if she had been attacked. Those marks would eventually fade to silvery lines and be of no consequence, the battle scars of pregnancy. Still, Lily wasn't keen on getting too many more of them than she had to and she lathered on a thick layer of Magic Mark-Off that she had ordered through the hospital. For the most part, it had starved off most of the marks she knew she should have had with how quickly Bean was growing from within her. She looked at the clock.

"Damn, why didn't you tell me how late it was?" Lily chastised her belly quickly as she whipped on her work uniform, struggling for a moment to tie her shoes. Sighing, she gave up and grabbed her bag, nearly tripping on her undone laces.

She made it there in nearly record time, slipping into the seat next to Marshall there at their counter. He looked up and grinned at her. She glanced over, unable to suppress her grin. He looked silly, a little tired, and his hair was disheveled, but his clothes were pressed which was more than Lily could say for herself. She tossed her bag into the drawer and spun around to face Marshall, putting her shoe up on his chair. He laughed, rolling his eyes and tied her shoes for her.

"When are you going to give it up and invest in Velcro?" Marshall snickered.

"I'd still not be able to reach them," Lily said shaking her head.

"And you still have sixteen weeks to go," Marshall teased. "This is why you should be at home."

"Oh, yeah because barefoot and pregnant pays the bills," Lily retorted as he tied her other shoe for her. Marshall laughed and shook his head.

"You know, there is more than one way to make this work, Lily," Marshall said. Lily shrugged and pulled her stack of files toward her.

"Anyone die on us last night?" Lily asked as Shanna came up tiredly.

"No, but I never want to work another night shift again," Shanna said shaking her head. "Our newest new girl was completely incompetent. I ended up firing her and sending her on her merry way."

"Ah, and I thought this one was going to be the one," Marshall teased. Shanna shot him a look.

"Just because they're good looking, Marshall, doesn't mean that they are going to work out," Shanna said. Marshall laughed.

"Lily, you are one of a kind, then," Marshall teased, causing Lily to blush slightly.

"How was Rose's baby shower last night?" Shanna asked. Lily laughed.

"Great," Lily said grinning. "Tabby was born!"

"Oh, wow!" Shanna said. "What a surprise!"

"Indeed, it was a surprise. Rose was so mad at me, because I joked she'd have it last night, well, technically this morning," Lily said.

"Did you sleep last night?" Marshall asked slightly concerned.

"Yeah, some," Lily grinned. Marshall groaned and shook his head.

"Come over after your shift tonight," Marshall told her. "I'll make dinner."

"Depends," Lily said grinning. "What are you making?"

"It's a surprise," Marshall laughed as he stood, stretching. "So, I'll see you then?"

"Yeah, of course," Lily said. "But we'll have to come back here for our shift tonight."

"No problem," Marshall said. "You can catch a few winks at my place."

"Always great," Lily said. Marshall started towards the door, pulling his coat on.

"Are you sure you'll be ok to work today?" Marshall asked her. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You're not my father, Marsh. I'll be fine," Lily said grinning. "Just make sure you have dinner ready for me when I get home."

"Yes, ma'am," Marshall laughed as he turned and left. Shanna laughed and took her seat. Lily turned back to her files and began working on them.

"So… are you sure you are going to be able to work the broken double?" Shanna asked concerned. Lily sighed and put her pen down.

"Shanna, really, I know I'm pregnant, but that doesn't mean that I can't work," Lily said.

"Yeah, but you couldn't have slept much last night," Shanna reminded her.

"So, I'll sleep at Marshall's and threaten him to wake me up in time to go to work," Lily promised. Shanna laughed.

"You and Marshall seem to be getting along fine," Shanna said. Lily had already returned to working on her files.

"Oh, yeah. He's great," Lily said absentmindedly as she prepared her checklists.

"So… are you two dating?" Shanna asked. Lily looked at the older woman in horror.

"I'm almost five months pregnant. What business do I have dating?" Lily asked.

"That's not a '_no_'," Shanna said grinning. Lily laughed; her face was red with embarrassment.

"Marshall and I are just really, really good friends," Lily assured her.

"Well, no one would blame you if you and he started dating, baby or no baby," Shanna assured her. "I mean, we all deserve a little bit of love occasionally."

"The only kind of love Marshall and I share is the one of a deep friendship," Lily said as she climbed to her feet. "I'm going to head down to the cafeteria for a snack. Do you want anything?"

"See if they have…" Shanna started. Lily took her time walking down to the cafeteria, passing other Healers and specialists on her way.

She thought about the fact that she, too, believed that she did deserve some love. She was far too lonely, even with Bean in her belly and her cat Skye. She and Marshall cared about each other, and it would be so easy for both of them to slip into that role with each other, but they had discussed it. Their love wasn't of any more than Lily's love for a brother, though she thought of fighting it.

Marshall deserved more. He denied that Lily couldn't be enough; her love, though flawed, would be sufficient. Lily couldn't do that to him, to saddle him with a baby that wasn't his and a pale version of love, and they had decided to only ever be friends. It was good, though, he was content being her friend, and they were the very best of friends.

The day sped by without much thought and as predicted, more families visited their loved ones, part of their resolutions. Family visits often were disruptive to the day to day care of the patients, but Lily knew that she had to be patient with the families. They meant well enough. Only a few ever visited with long term consistency. Lily looked up to see Professor Longbottom standing in front of her, grinning.

"Hello Lily," he said.

"Hello, Professor," Lily said as she smiled.

"How are you?" he asked. "And, please, Lily. We're out of school now; call me Neville."

"I'm fine, Neville, and I assume you are as well?" Lily said grinning. He nodded.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Neville said. Lily smiled politely.

"About what?" Lily asked.

"A job," Neville said.

"I have a job," Lily reminded him.

"Yes you do, but with the baby coming, you'll want something a little more structured. I want you think about possibly coming and teaching at Hogwarts," Neville said quietly as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. There was a silent pause that stretched between the two of them.

"Teaching?" Lily asked hesitantly, the smile gone from her face.

"Yes," Neville said grinning. "Starting next fall, we will have an opening for potions master."

"Wow," Lily said. "I mean that's… wow."

"You don't have to decide now," Neville said smiling. "Just think about it. It would give you more time with your baby, better hours, housing on campus."

"I… I'll have to think about it, surely," Lily said. Neville nodded.

"Good, think on it," Neville said. He looked down the hall. "Well, I better see how mom is doing."

"She misses your dad," Lily offered. "But she's doing really well. Eating, keeping up her strength. She's have a great time in art therapy."

"That's the only downside of having you come to Hogwarts, if you so choose," Neville said smiling. "I won't have you taking care of my mom."

"You know, no matter who works here, your mom is always going to be taken care of," Lily promised. "Not that I've decided."

"Of course not," Neville said seriously. "But you're thinking about it and that's great."

* * *

Lily didn't knock when she got to Marshall's; instead she used her key to let herself in. The apartment was overly warm and Lily pulled off her coat and sweater, hanging them up on the hook. There were several complementary aromas wafting through the apartment. She rubbed her belly slightly as she glanced to the kitchen. She turned her head and looked up as Marshall exited the bathroom, wearing a towel around his waist.

"Oh, dude you're early," Marshall said as he glanced to the clock. "Or I'm running really, really late."

"I think it's a bit of both," Lily said snickering as Marshall headed off to his bedroom to change. He emerged a few minutes later, wearing jeans and a tee shirt.

"Sorry," Marshall said grinning. A hint of color burned in his cheeks.

"Mind if I lay down?" Lily asked. Marshall shook his head.

"By all means," Marshall said. Lily headed into his room, not surprised to find it a bit messy and the bed unmade. She climbed in, tucking her arm behind her head as she kicked off her shoes. She watched as her stomach danced and wiggled in front of her eyes. The bed shifted and Marshall's hand crested her stomach.

"It's getting big, huh?" Lily asked. Marshall laughed.

"It's all baby," Marshall said. He paused.

"Sure it is," Lily said. "Like it has nothing to do with the cooking you've been doing lately." Marshall laughed.

"Speaking of, I hope you like honey glazed chicken and rice," Marshall said. "As soon as the rice is done, it'll be ready."

"Sounds good," Lily said as she bit her lip. Marshall absent mindedly rubbed Lily's belly, Bean kicking anywhere Marshall talked.

"Is something wrong?" Marshall asked quietly as he watched Lily. Lily looked at him in surprise.

"No, why?" Lily asked.

"Well you're not sleeping and you're not talking," Marshall said. "And you look like you have a lot on your mind"

"I'm thinking," Lily said quietly. Marshall rolled to his side and pushed his head up, resting it on his arm.

"About?" Marshall asked as he and Bean started playing the tapping game.

"Neville Longbottom," Lily said. Marshall laughed.

"Please tell me that you didn't turn down the chance with me for him. You know he's married," Marshall said. Lily laughed.

"No, trust me you'd win hands down… if I felt that way," Lily said. Marshall sighed dejectedly but smiled none the less.

"Then what about Neville Longbottom?" Marshall encouraged as his hand rested on Lily's stomach.

"He offered me a job," Lily said. Marshall looked at her curiously.

"But you have a job," Marshall said. "Is he thinking of taking Miss Alice home for care?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," Lily said shaking her head. "It'd be a teaching position. Potion master at Hogwarts."

"What happened to that Perkins fellow that was teaching?" Marshall asked. Lily shrugged.

"We didn't talk specifics, other than that I'd be potion master and there's house on campus, better hours, more time with the baby," Lily said as she bit her lip. Marshall's eyes traveled to her face.

"Lily, you love being a healer," Marshall reminded her gently.

"I do," Lily sighed. "But sometimes the hours are killer and I always loved potions."

"Work less hours," Marshall suggested. Lily looked at him, seeing that he was evidently upset.

"I can't work less hours and make my bills," Lily said shaking her head. She touched his hair, always amazed at how soft it was.

"Marry me," Marshall said desperately. Lily's eyes opened wide and she started to withdraw her hand. He seized it gently with his.

"Marshall…" Lily started.

"Look, we both know that you don't feel that way about me, and I get that. But this would solve so many problems. You could move in here with me, the baby would have it's own room. You wouldn't have to work. I'd work two jobs if needed," Marshall said quickly and Lily wondered how long he had been thinking along these lines. He looked at her. "Look, I'll be for you whatever you need for me to be. Just think about it, ok?"

"Marshall…" Lily protested. He silenced her with his finger, pressing it against her lips. Just then the buzzer rang and Marshall was up out of bed.

"Dinner's done, Lils," Marshall said almost breathlessly. "Just think on it."

Lily struggled out of bed and headed to the table. She was determined to talk about it now, to not let things go on any further than they had to. She waited until they were both seated at the table, food before them. Marshall started eating at once, and Lily suspected that he hoped she'd follow suit.

"Marshall," Lily said carefully. She could practically see him wince under her gentle word.

"Yes, Lily?" Marshall said after he swallowed his mouthful.

"You know I love you, right?" Lily asked him quietly. Marshall sighed and nodded.

"But you're not in love with me," he replied as he finished her statement. "Still, Lily, I'm willing to be your child's father, to raise it as my own. To love it. You may not be in love with me, Lily, but I'm in love with you."

"I know," Lily said sadly.

"Look, Lils, your baby needs a father, and yeah it's great that Scorpius is back in the picture, but he's only ever going to be a part time father," Marshall said quickly. He looked at her. "If not marriage to me, then at least stay here, live here as a roommate. I'm closer to work than you are and I am willing to work the opposite shifts so that you don't have to put Bean in a center, like we talked about before."

"Marshall," Lily protested.

"Please, Lily," Marshall begged quietly. "Don't leave."

"I haven't even made my decision yet," Lily promised. Marshall's face reflected sadness.

"I can't tell you how much I'm going to miss working with you," Marshall said quietly as he picked up his fork.

"Marsh, I've not decided yet!" Lily protested louder. Marshall looked up at her and nodded once.

"No, not yet, but you will," Marshall said. He sighed. "But I understand, Lily, I do. You have to do what is best for you and Bean, and I respect that. Even if that means only seeing you on school holidays."

"Seriously Marshall," Lily said as she speared some food. "I've not made my choice yet. There are too many factors to consider."

"Like Scorpius?" Marshall pressed carefully. Lily swallowed and nodded once after hesitating.

"I suppose, yeah, I'll have to let him know what I am doing," Lily said. "After all, he is Bean's father."

"Is he going with you to the next ultrasound?" Marshall asked curiously.

"I've not asked him yet," Lily said.

"You should," Marshall insisted. Lily looked up at him and smirked.

"You'd do anything to keep me here, huh? Even have me get back with Scorpius?" Lily taunted lightly. Marshall grinned, his face lighting up.

"If nothing else, you are my best friend, Lily," Marshall said unabashedly. "Don't hold it against me that I don't want you going anywhere if I can help it."

"Good to know," Lily said. "Now I know where you stand on my leaving or not leaving, as the matter may be. Not that I've made a decision."

"Of course not," Marshall said shaking his head almost sadly. "Not yet. But soon."

"I have plenty of time," Lily promised. Marshall looked at her frowning, shaking his head slightly.

"A lot can happen in sixteen weeks," Marshall said. Lily sighed in frustration, Marshall looking at her curiously.

"Yeah, a lot _can_ happen in sixteen weeks," Lily reminded him. "Sorry, I'm just a little crankier than I expected."

"It's ok," Marshall said quietly. He watched her brush her hair behind her ear and rise. "I'll pack you up something for work later tonight so you eat then. Go on and rest."

"Ok," Lily said as she walked toward the bedroom. She turned and looked at him. "If you don't wake me up on time, I will kick your butt." Marshall laughed.

"I'll wake you up on time," Marshall promised.

And he kept his promise. The two of them had a very uneventful night at work and by the end of it, Lily was ready to go to straight to bed. She text Kate and told her that she really couldn't come and get Tina today, and that she was tired. Lily yawned sleepily as she climbed onto the muggle transit and took the bus to Blevins. Normally she'd walk, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to make it the few blocks from St. Mungo's to her neighborhood.

She used her key to get into the building, climbing the flights of stairs as if each one led to doom. She wished that the lift worked on days like this. She finally made it to her apartment, slipping her key in the lock and pushing the door open. She froze, her heart racing as she realized that she wasn't alone.

The apartment was pitch-dark, thanks to too few windows and blackout curtains that helped Lily sleep during the day. She couldn't see anyone, but she could sense that there was another person in her apartment. She could hear breathing, low and steady, and there was a faint yet familiar scent lingering in the air. She reached for the light switch and the baseball bat she kept near the door. Her fingers bumped the bat, it clattering noisily to the ground.

"Lily?" a voice called out sleepily in the dark. Her hand flipped the light on, flooding the apartment with light. Scorpius was curled up on her couch with Skye, his jacket draped over his arms. He blinked sleepily at her.

"Scorpius, dear God you about gave me a heart attack!" Lily chastised as she pressed her hand to her heart. "What are you doing here?"

"I came back to talk to you," Scorpius said as he stretched and stood. "I thought you worked days today?"

"I had to pull a broken double," Lily said as she relaxed a little, closing the door and placing her keys in the basket by the table. She hung her coat up by the door and kneaded the back of her neck for a moment.

"Why didn't you come home in between shifts?" Scorpius asked. Lily shot him a dirty look.

"That's really none of your business, Scorpius," Lily reminded him. Scorpius nodded once. He looked tired.

"I was just worried, that's all," Scorpius said. Lily sighed and yawned. "Tired?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"Go ahead and sleep, we can talk later," Scorpius said as he sat back down on the futon. Lily looked at him.

"Don't you have to go to work?" Lily asked. Scorpius shrugged.

"There are more important things for me to do," Scorpius said. He looked at her looking at him with a critical eye. He laughed. "I have a few days off. I'm still banned from international travel for my behavior towards Rose."

"Ah," Lily said as she crept closer to the bathroom. He looked up and grinned.

"Go on ahead," Scorpius yawned. "I'll be here."

Lily went through her shower and changing of clothes as quickly as her full new figure would let her. She was towel drying her hair when she stepped out of the bathroom. Scorpius was sound asleep on the futon and Lily shook her head. She opened up the hall closet, pulling free an old knit blanket and she took his jacket, laying it on the table before covering him up with the blanket. She stole one last look at him before she headed to her bed. Sleep overcame her at once and consumed her fully.

Lily wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she was aware that at some point she wasn't alone. She didn't remember the bed moving, but she was nearly aware of the person pressing his face against her stomach and the quiet hum of talking. She yawned slightly, feeling a bit rested but like she could still sleep some. She looked down to see Scorpius in the glow of her alarm clock. He looked at her and smiled.

"Sorry to have woken you, Lils," Scorpius whispered quietly. "Bean and I were just chatting."

"You were?" Lily said smirking sleepily.

"Yeah," Scorpius said.

"What were you chatting about?" Lily asked.

"I was asking Bean if the room should be pink or blue," Scorpius said. Lily laughed slightly.

"And?" Lily murmured. Scorpius chuckled.

"I don't understand the Morse code so I am thinking I'll paint it yellow," Scorpius said. Lily thought a moment.

"What room?" Lily asked after she thought for a moment.

"The room in my apartment," Scorpius said naturally. Lily looked at him curiously. He had a hesitant smile on his face. "I'm assuming that you are going to at least grant me visitation with our son or daughter, right?"

"I…" Lily said as she frowned. She actually hadn't given much thought to Scorpius' roll in everything. He sighed and stood.

"Lily, you know I love you and I was stupid," Scorpius said sadly. "Even if you had done what I thought, I had no right to kick you out of your apartment. I was angry and I wanted to hurt you, and for that I'm sorry. Will you please move back into the apartment?"

"What?" Lily said.

"I've already decorated your nursery there," Scorpius said quietly as he looked away. He paced to her window, looking out.

"My nursery?" Lily asked.

"I just want you and the baby close, in case you both need anything," Scorpius said as he touched the ice-flecked window. Lily looked at him.

"I don't think that's going to work, Scorpius," Lily said honestly. Scorpius kept his back to her, waiting for her to continue. "You made it pretty clear that we're not together and I've… had to move on."

"I don't want you to think I am using it as a way to control you, Lily. I never expected you to wait on me," Scorpius said. "It was a given that you would move on, that someone else would claim your heart. I just want to be there for you both, my child and the mother of my child. You may not love me anymore, and rightly, but I still love you."

"Scorpius," Lily said sighing as she struggled into a sitting position. "It's not that."

"Just think about it, Lily, before you say no," Scorpius begged as he finally turned to look at her. "I want to be in my child's life, a part of it. I know you mentioned that Marshall would work opposite of you so that you could work and keep our child out of a center, but you don't need to, Lily. I am Bean's father. I should be the one to take care of our baby when you can't, not your boyfriend."

"Marshall's not my boyfriend," Lily told him sharply.

"Sorry, but that's not how it looks," Scorpius said crossly. Lily stood, glaring at him.

"I don't care how it looks," Lily said crossing her arms. "It's none of your business."

"It is my business that you would rather have some other man raise our child rather than me," Scorpius said crossing his own arms, glaring right back at her.

"No man is raising my child," Lily snapped. "I wanted you to raise our child and you made that decision early on. Marshall stepped up as a friend and has been nothing but the best towards me. He has accepted me, even when I've not always been acceptable. Do you know what it's like to be an unmarried twenty year old witch pregnant with the child of some affluent man? It's hell, Scorpius. I pretend not to hear the whispers, I ignore the looks. Hell, I even act like this is what I want. I want to be the single mother of a child that up until recently I believed wasn't wanted. And do you know how awful that makes me feel? That Bean wasn't wanted? I couldn't imagine my life without my baby, but it wasn't until I fell in love with the poor thing. I'm acting like I'm so strong, like I can handle this all on my own, and truthfully, I terrified. I'm so scared that it keeps me up some nights, pacing."

"What are you scared of?" Scorpius asked quietly as he watched Lily pace back and forth, her bed between them.

"Everything. What do I know about being a mother? My own mother wasn't around much when she was alive, and it's not like I have ever wanted to become a mom enough before Bean to actually pay attention to other mothers with their children," Lily said in a panic. "What if there really is something wrong with Bean. I have no hope in rearing a perfectly healthy child on my own, what kind of future would an unhealthy baby have? And what if something happens to me? My dad isn't getting any younger and my brothers all have families of their own. I'm terrified, truly terrified. I am going to screw this all up."

"Lily," Scorpius said quietly as Lily took a shuddering breath.

"No, you don't understand. What am I supposed to do if something happens to me? What'll happen to Bean? I can't leave all this to chance and I have no clue what I'm supposed to do," Lily snapped.

"Easy, Lily," Scorpius said as he rounded her bed quickly, grabbing her upper arms to keep her from turning away from him. He looked down at her wide, panic filled eyes. "What brought on this sudden terror-induced monologue."

"I don't know what the right choice is!" Lily wailed in exasperation.

"Well, what choices do you have and maybe you can work through them," Scorpius said as he continued to hold her arms. She didn't try to pull away, only bit her lip in thought.

"Marshall asked me to marry him," Lily said. Scorpius froze, not expecting that to come out of Lily's mouth.

"M-marry you?" Scorpius stuttered in shock.

"Yes," Lily said. "But I believe it's a ploy to keep me here in London."

"You're thinking about leaving London?" Scorpius asked after a second or two.

"I got a job offer to teach at Hogwarts," Lily confessed.

"But you love being a Healer," Scorpius protested.

"Be that as it may, I don't want to be like my mother and barely be around to watch my child grow up," Lily said biting her lip again. She looked at the torment in his eyes and added. "I only got the job offer, and the marriage proposal, today. Then you with this damn apartment offer, asking me to think about it like the rest of them, and I don't know what to do."

"What did Marshall say about the job?" Scorpius asked. Lily looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Why do you care?" Lily demanded.

"You and he are just really good friends, and as much as I despise the fact that he was the one who's been there even when I wouldn't be, he seems to have your best interest at heart," Scorpius said quietly, almost in defeat. "If you and he want to get married, as much as it kills me, I'll support your decision."

"I don't want marriage," Lily snapped. "I just want to know what the right thing to do is."

"Ok," Scorpius said.

"He thinks that I should ask you to come to the next ultrasound appointment," Lily said in quiet defeat. "He'd do whatever it takes to keep me here, even have me get back with you. He was willing to work two jobs so I could stay home and raise the baby."

"If that's what you want, I'll work two jobs and never be around you, Lily," Scorpius said quickly. "You can live in the apartment down the hall, you can date whomever makes you happy, but please don't take my baby away from me. Not now, not that I am helpless in love with the little ninja."

"Scorpius, I haven't decided what I am going to do," Lily said quietly.

"When is the next ultrasound appointment?" Scorpius asked suddenly. Lily thought a moment.

"A week from next Thursday. I'll be twenty six weeks and maybe if Bean cooperates, we'll be able to see if we're having a son or daughter. Will you come?" Lily asked quietly.

"Of course," Scorpius said quickly, reverently. "It will be the first time I get to see my child live. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Thank you," Lily said as she pulled away from him. "So… I guess we should go look at this nursery that you've gotten together at my old apartment. I dare say you ultimately hope I fall in love with it, don't you?"

"Hope? No. Pray to the Gods above, yes," Scorpius said. He looked at her earnestly. "You may have gotten over me, Lily Potter, but I'm not over you."

"Who ever said I was over you?" Lily taunted as she shut the door between the bedroom and living room, placing between them a barrier of wood.

"That's a start, Lily," Scorpius called through the door. "See you at the apartment."


	45. Remembering Cake

**A/N:** What do I listen to when I am writing? All kinds of music, from Linkin Park to Samuel Barber. I use the music tones to help me convey a feeling or feelings. Thank you to all who have reviewed or sent people my way. Good times and if you look… we are creepy quickly to 500! Also, I love the PM's I have been getting lately! Great time chatting with you all. Also, I took off a big chunk of Saturday and Sunday writing to spend time with my kids and roommates, so… yeah. Good times! OH NO! I got half way through this chapter and I am like- Meh. NO!! I can't just not finish it. Damn NaNo getting me too busy already. This one is shorter because I really want to get to two major events coming up…

**Disc.:** We know I only created the plot here. The characters were borrowed.

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**Remembering Cake**

Lily yawned, looking at the clock on the wall. Her shift was nearly over with and all she wanted to do was go home. She sighed and turned back to her file, writing her notes in it. It wasn't like she could go home. Not yet at least. She had an appointment with Lisa and a new doctor, Dr. Schmidt, to do more ultrasounds on Bean. Scorpius said that he would be there, but Lily had her doubts.

For the past two weeks, they had been trying to find a time to get together to talk and for Lily to see the nursery. She had been all set the day she had her little emotional breakdown in her apartment, but he had called shortly after leaving to say he had been called back on duty and was being sent to Argentina again. She had sighed and agreed to wait until he returned. He was supposed to be back last night, but she hadn't heard from him yet. She was going to be really pissed if he didn't show up.

"He'll be there," Marshall told her reassuringly as he patted her hand. Lily smiled at him, catching herself from begging Marshall to come. She knew she wasn't doing right by him, always insisting that they be together. No, that wasn't right. She had been telling him the opposite, yet she allowed him to continue.

"I'll be fine," Lily assured him before she once again returned to her work. She knew she needed to distance herself more from him. She was only going to end up hurting Marshall, and she knew it. He didn't see it that way, but he was a guy and sometimes guys just didn't get it.

Promptly at the end of her shift, Lily departed, taking the muggle bus to the better part of town where St. Mary's had a specialty clinic for pregnant moms with babies that might have issues. Lily growled at the idea but pushed her way into the waiting room, signing in at the front desk. She took a clipboard to fill out new paperwork, knowing it was only by chance that she got in with Lisa's specialist. Lily by chance met Lisa through Rose, saving her from making the worst mistake of her life. Now Lily relied on Lisa to help her keep her baby healthy and alive.

"Ms. Potter?" the nurse called. Lily stood and looked around, frowning. It figured. Scorpius wasn't going to show up for Bean's ultrasound with the specialist. Fury filled her as she was led back to the examination room. Lily was half way through her physical exam when a knock came to the door. Dr. Schmidt looked up at Lisa, who went to the door.

"Yes?" Lisa asked. Scorpius stepped in, huffing and puffing. Lily looked up at him in surprise.

"You came?" Lily asked.

"My flight just got in," Scorpius said as he bent over and kissed her forehead instinctively. They both froze, in shock. It was the first time they had kissed in any degree since he broke up with her.

"You must be the baby's father, correct?" Dr. Schmidt said as he nodded at Scorpius.

"I am," Scorpius said. He looked at Lily, a little uncertain if the doctor was supposed to be poking around down there on Lily quite like that. He opened his mouth to say something but Lily took his hand and squeezed.

"Well, Miss Potter, you're dilated to one, which is a little concerning being that you are only twenty six weeks, but we'll just keep an eye on that," Dr. Schmidt said as he righted himself. He pulled off his latex gloves and disposed of them before heading toward the ultrasound machine. "How about we take a look at Bean, right?"

"Right," Lily said nodding. Scorpius watched uncertainly, never having been there for one of these tests before. He wondered if it would hurt.

"Now you opted not to go with the Amniocentesis, correct?" Dr. Schmidt clarified. "May I ask why?"

"Giant needle shoved into Bean's amniotic sac really just doesn't appeal to me," Lily said simply. Dr. Schmidt looked at Scorpius.

"And as the father, you're content with that?" Dr. Schmidt asked. Scorpius nodded.

"Lily knows what is best for our baby. I trust her decisions," Scorpius said as he looked down at her. His words seemed to have double meaning and Lily picked up on that. She smiled at him as she held his hand tighter.

"Ok, let's take a peek, shall we?" Dr. Schmidt said as he prepared the probe and pressed it against Lily's round belly. Life burst forth in its black and white glory before Scorpius' eyes.

"Is that Bean?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah," Lily said breathlessly. "Beautiful, huh?" She didn't need to look at him to know that Scorpius' silence was a rush of emotions. She bit her lip as she watched carefully the specialist measured and examined Bean critically.

"There is still a shadow around the baby's heart that is concerning, but aside from repeat ultrasounds, without the amniocentesis, there's not much we can do until the baby is born," Dr. Schmidt said quietly. He smiled at Lily though, reassuringly. "Still, there's no reason you couldn't have a wonderful life with your child, affected or not."

"Thank you Dr. Schmidt," Lily said.

"Now, I hear that the past couple of ultrasounds that you have had, there's not been much success trying to find out whether you are having a boy or girl, correct?" Dr. Schmidt asked. Lily smiled and nodded.

"Bean's a bit modest," Lily teased as she loved on her belly, keeping her hand out of the gel.

"I'm one of the greatest at finding these secrets out," Dr. Schmidt said as he looked at the two of them. "Shall I have a look?"

"Sure," the parents both said almost excitedly.

"Ok," Dr. Schmidt said as he moved the probe around her belly. He poked and prodded, using the probe and his hands.

"Bean's not showing you, is the little stinker?" Lily laughed at Dr. Schmidt's scrunched up face. He sighed.

"I've never failed at this before, but your baby has it's little legs pulled so tightly up against it's bum that really can't get a good look at anything," Dr. Schmidt said as he poked a bit more.

"Bean is just full of surprises for us on birth day," Lily said grinning as the doctor finally surrendered. He helped Lily wiped the ultrasonic gel off her stomach and shook his head.

"I don't like failure," Dr. Schmidt said laughing. "I guess that it really will be a big surprise for you all around on your delivery day."

"There is always next time," Scorpius said hopefully. Lily shook her head.

"This is the way it is meant to be," Lily said grinning as she sat up. "I kind of like it. Everyone will know at the same time."

"Ok, Miss Potter, we will see you back in two weeks for just a normal check, hopefully not too much more dilation has occurred," Dr. Schmidt said as he handed Lily a small stack of printed photos. "You need to be taking it easy at work. Try to spend more time off your feet then on them, and remember to relax. I have a good feeling about your baby."

"Thank you Dr. Schmidt," Lily said shaking his warm hands. He smiled.

"Thanks, doctor," Scorpius said as he shook Dr. Schmidt's hand. Lily handed the photos to Scorpius and gestured for him to turn around so she could get dressed. Scorpius complied reluctantly, having not really gotten to see much of Lily in her natural state other than once when she reached for something in the cupboard and he got a glimpse of her belly.

"So, do you have to rush right back to D.A.A. or do you want to show me this famed nursery?" Lily asked. Scorpius hesitantly turned and looked at her.

"We can go look, but are you sure you are up to it? You look dead tired," he said.

"I'll be fine, if you let me snooze on the couch somewhere," Lily said as she struggled to slip her shoes on over her feet. She looked at him expectantly.

"Do you want some help with that?" Scorpius asked as he swooped down and tied her shoes. Lily looked down at him, grinning.

"It's monstrous from that angle, isn't it?" Lily asked. Scorpius looked up at her and smirked.

"I wouldn't mind seeing more of it, to be honest," Scorpius said as his hand spread across her belly for a moment before he stood. Lily coughed slightly, blushing.

"Let me check out here, and then let's go look at that nursery," Lily said changing the subject.

It felt weird for Lily to walk in through that door. She could almost hear those final moments that they were together there, their sadness and pain still lingering in the air. Immediately, Lily wanted to leave. She turned and Scorpius caught her by the arm, pulling her into his arms. He held her against him, the best that he could with her belly between them. He rubbed small circles into her back as he held her tightly.

"I am so sorry that I was such a prick to you, Lily," Scorpius breathed. "I love you so completely; I couldn't even begin to express how much it hurt to make you leave me. I was stupid and foolish. I let my stupid pride get in the way of just talking to you. This is all my fault."

"Scorpius," Lily said.

"No, please Lily, just let me show you the nursery and then you can rest," Scorpius said. "There is time to talk later, and even if we are never meant to be boyfriend and girlfriend again, it's ok."

"The nursery?" Lily murmured after a moment. She bit her lip in thought as he released her and she looked around her old apartment again as if seeing it for the first time. He had kept it exactly as she had left it, and Lily's fingers touched the top of the piano.

"I miss hearing you play," Scorpius admitted somberly.

"I miss playing," Lily admitted.

"I have to confess, I sometimes still sleep here," Scorpius said blushing. Lily grinned despite herself.

"The nursery?" She prodded again. Scorpius laughed and took her by the hand leading to the room that had once been Lily's guest room. It was the closest room to her master suite.

"Close your eyes," Scorpius whispered in her ear as he slipped a hand over her eyes. Lily could feel the warmth radiating off of him and she could smell him. For a moment, she thought that she might cry. But happy tears instead of sad tears.

"Can I open them yet?" Lily asked as he shuffled her in through the door.

"Not yet, Lils," Scorpius chuckled. "Be patient."

"I have waited two weeks," Lily reminded him. Scorpius laughed.

"Ok, open your eyes," Scorpius said. Lily opened her eyes and looked around the room that lay out before them. She inhaled sharply in surprise and this time she did cry.

The room had always been square with white walls and a cherry wooden floor. Someone had come in and painted the wall a warm cream color, more yellow than white. The curtains were almost silk looking, reflecting the same color scheme. The Malfoy family cradle was erected near one wall, opposite of a matching hutch and a rocking chair. There were tons of books and random baby things everywhere, neatly placed. Framed pictures of muggle nursery rhymes were hung carefully on the wall. Scorpius opened the closet to expose a huge wardrobe of both boys and girls clothes. He grinned at her, shrugging.

"I didn't know what we would need," he said. He looked around fairly proud of himself. "Do you like it?"

"I…" Lily said.

"I mean when we find out what we're having, I can have the cradle's linens changed to reflect that, but I figured ivory would be safe and it bleaches well, too," Scorpius said. "Apparently, according to my grandmother, babies spit up and poop a lot."

"Yeah," Lily said as she let her eyes fall on an older yet quite still usable teddy bear sitting on the rocking chair.

"That's Mr. Bear. My mother gave him to me when I was a baby," Scorpius said quietly. "If you don't think Bean would like it, I can take it back."

"No, no," Lily said breathlessly. "I love it."

"You do?" Scorpius said happily.

"Yeah, I do," Lily said as she threw her arms around him tightly. Scorpius immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"You know, I do love you," Scorpius said. "But all I want for you to be is happy."

"I… I think it would make me very happy to move back in here," Lily said. Scorpius laughed.

"How will Marshall take that?" Scorpius asked.

"Marshall wants what you want, for me to be happy," Lily said. "It doesn't change much of anything, and I still have that job to think about at Hogwarts."

"Yes, you do," Scorpius agreed.

"And my moving in doesn't change my friendship with Marshall," Lily said quietly.

"It's not like we're getting back together," Scorpius assured her. "I'd not be so foolish to assume."

"Good," Lily said. She looked around. "I'd want to bring all of my stuff and put it in the guest room. I have some pretty nice things Marshall gave me."

"Of course," Scorpius said as Lily yawned. "Have you slept today?"

"No, not yet," Lily said. Scorpius took her by the hand and led her to her old master bedroom.

"Why not take a nap while I bond with our child," Scorpius suggested. He opened her closet door, pulling out a cotton night gown. "It's a maternity."

"You act like you knew I was going to choose this," Lily teased as she took it from him.

"Hey, I only hoped. Oh, and I reinforced the blackout curtains in here," Scorpius said as he flipped out the light. The room was dark as night, aside from the light that spilled in through the open door.

"Ooh, give me a second," Lily said cheerfully. Scorpius could hear the rustle of clothes and he knew she was changing. He was half tempted to flip the light on and take her, there and then, but he knew he had to be patient. Everything in its own time.

"Want me to turn the light on?" Scorpius asked.

"Nah," Lily said. "I think I can find my way to the… _yeah_… found the bed."

"Sounds comfortable," Scorpius laughed as he circled to the other side of the bed. He climbed in next to her, just to find her reaching for him.

"Can we just lay here together for a bit? Like old times?" Lily said sniffling.

"Are you crying?" Scorpius asked in horror at the thought. He pulled her into his arms the best that he could.

"No," Lily lied sniffling some more. She laughed. "Damn hormones."

"Awe, don't be upset," Scorpius crooned quietly as his fingers stroked her face gently.

"I'm sorry to cut into your Bean time," Lily said.

"Lils, I love comforting you," Scorpius said quietly as he smiled in the darkness. He paused, wondering if it was too soon for him to make a move on her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Scorpius," Lily warned quietly.

"I know," Scorpius promised. He sighed and then smiled at her in the dark again. "Remember our third year, when we ate that cake down in the school kitchens?"

"Yes," Lily said smirking. "We ended up with so much cake on our faces."

"You started it," Scorpius laughed.

"Did not!" Lily laughed.

"You did so! You rubbed it in my face," Scorpius said quietly laughing. "I wanted to kiss you that night, you know?"

"You did?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," Scorpius said.

"I wanted you to. You should have," Lily said.

"I want to kiss you now too, though. So it must be something about you Lily Potter," Scorpius said quietly as his fingers touched her lips.

"I won't stop you," Lily breathed as she felt his breath caress her face. She felt his lips press against hers and she automatically responded, opening her mouth slightly and taking him into her.

"Don't worry, Lils, I know it doesn't change anything," Scorpius said breathlessly a few minutes later. Lily's fingers were still tangled in his hair.

"The hell it doesn't," Lily said laughing.


	46. Broken

**A/N:** So, it's looking like this bad boy will not make it to 50 chapters after all… We are, however, nearly at 500 reviews. People that is awesome! Also, I hint at the baby's gender in this one. A very subtle hint, I doubt anyone picks up on it… Oh, and I was going to wait to release this chapter until everyone had a chance to read last chapter, but instead… enjoy!

**Disc.:** Standard disclaimer denying I am anyone famous.

* * *

**Broken**

_Scorpius stood in the doorway of Lily's room. She was standing there before him in a black lacy bra and matching panties. She had her hair down, it falling in waves past her shoulders. She had her eyes fixed on him as she crept closer, a half smile on her face. He held his breath as her fingers reached for him in the night. She moved her mouth to say something but he had already rushed her, closing the distance between their mouths. They were coupled in a moment of pure passion._

"Scorpius? _Hello_?" Lily called waving her hands in front of his face. Scorpius' eyes shot open and Lily grinned. "Nodded off?"

"No," he lied as he stretched, yawning.

"If you're too tired, I'm sure that Narcissa would be ok with rescheduling Sunday brunch at her house," Lily said as she moved to grab his phone.

"No," Scorpius said quickly as he snatched the cell off Lily's table and slipped it in his pocket. "I'm fine and we are not rescheduling this. Who knows when we might have another minute of peace?"

"Bean isn't due for four more weeks," Lily laughed at him as she stood there before Scorpius wearing a very cute summer dress. The air was still rather cool, but the extra hormones were having her over heat greatly at the drop of a hat.

"Still, you never know," Scorpius said shaking his head.

"So long as I don't have the little stinker tonight," Lily laughed. "Could you imagine me breaking my water all over your grandmother's antique dining room chairs?"

"Yeah… let's try to keep that from happening?" Scorpius laughed as he patted Lily's belly.

"Were you dreaming about me?" Lily asked as she buckled herself into the passenger seat of Scorpius' new family car. She had laughed at him when he told her he had bought it for them to share, mainly because Lily didn't drive, not at all, nor did she intend on learning how to.

"When?" Scorpius asked as he pulled the car out into traffic.

"You know, upstairs," Lily reminded him.

"Oh, then," Scorpius said quietly.

"Yeah, then," Lily laughed. Scorpius coughed once, heat rising to his cheeks.

"You know, the last time I had sex, I was dating you," Scorpius said. Lily laughed. He looked at her in surprise.

"You were having a sex dream?" she asked.

"Er, yeah," Scorpius admitted. "Or it would have been, had you not interrupted me trying to get with you, if you catch my drift."

"I get you," Lily said. She placed her hand on his leg. "You know, we can skip brunch and head back to my apartment and pick up in reality where fantasy left off."

"We can't have sex!" Scorpius said as he nearly plowed into another car.

"Why not?" Lily laughed as she ignored the way her body clenched up nervously at the near collision. "It's not like you could get me pregnant."

"I could hurt the baby," Scorpius said uncertainly. Lily laughed.

"You can't hurt the baby," Lily promised. "And anyways, it's been since then since I've been with anyone, so I'd like to have a little couple time before Bean is born."

"Couple time? Are we a couple?" Scorpius said uncertainly as he looked over at her.

"We've been seeing each other for about ten weeks now, I'd like to think that we are," Lily said flippantly. "But if you're not comfortable with that idea…"

"Oh, no, I love it," Scorpius said laughing excitedly. "This is perfect. I want you to be my girl friend, Lils, and I want to have 'couple time' with you before Bean comes. Maybe we can go on a little holiday before the baby comes. Perhaps when I get back from Argentina?"

"Are you ever going to tell me what you do in Argentina?" Lily asked.

"No," Scorpius said.

"Ok, just wondering," Lily said. "We can go on a little holiday in what two, three weeks. Not too far though, just in case."

"So, have you chosen any names for our child yet?" Scorpius asked as he pulled down the long driveway to Malfoy manor.

"I have a few that I am playing with," Lily though quietly. "I kind of want to see Bean first to see which one grabs me."

"Can you give me a hint?" Scorpius asked. Lily shook her head.

"No, I think I'd like for it to be a surprise," Lily said. Scorpius groaned.

"Isn't everything else a surprise about our child?" Scorpius said. Lily laughed and unbuckled her safety belt.

"We need to go car seat shopping soon," Lily said as she paused a moment, reaching for her purse.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius asked as his eyes fell on her face. She was wincing.

"Fine," Lily said as she grabbed her purse and righted herself. Scorpius' eyes narrowed and she closed the car door. She smiled at him.

"Are you sure?" Scorpius said. Lily laughed.

"I'm fine, you worry wart. Now let's go brunch it up with your Gran. I'm starved," Lily said laughing.

"Still, you look like you were uncomfortable there for a minute," Scorpius said cautiously. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I am as big as a house. Of course I am uncomfortable," Lily said. He looked at her skeptically and Lily rolled her eyes again. "You were there when Dr. Schmidt said that these Braxton-Hicks were normal and nothing to be concerned about."

"So you're having contractions?" Scorpius said a little loudly. Lily laughed.

"No, not really. At least, not real ones. I'm fine, Score, trust me," Lily said. "We're going to go in there, eat brunch, then go home and… well… _use your imagination_."

"Wow, you've gotten forward," Scorpius laughed as he rang the bell to the front door.

"It happens when you grow up, Score," Lily teased as Narcissa opened the door.

"Lily! Scorpius! What wonderful timing!" Narcissa said. Lily glanced at Scorpius with a look on her face just to find him oddly preoccupied with removing his light cloak and handing it to the house elf.

"Lily's hungry," Scorpius said to his Gram as he helped Lily out of her sweater.

"Oh, good. I'm glad because we have enough food to feed a small army," Narcissa said laughing and Scorpius joined in. Lily laughed lightly, not really getting the inside joke. The two followed Narcissa to the grand ballroom of Malfoy Manor, a room that always held the main Slytherin Ball events when the Malfoys hosted it.

"Oh!" Lily said in honest surprise as she walked through the door first. A great cheer for her erupted from the tons of people Lily knew and loved.

"Hope you didn't mind a surprise baby shower, Lily," Scorpius whispered in her ear as people moved forward to embrace her and congratulate her on the baby-to-be.

"How did you guys all keep it a secret?" Lily asked as someone pushed a heaping plate of brunch food in her hands. She was suddenly not as hungry, more surprised and distracted as ever.

"It wasn't hard," Marshall laughed as he hugged her. "You've kind of been busy lately, haven't you?"

"Marshall, awe," Lily laughed as Shanna came up behind him.

"It was all Scorpius' idea, really," Marshall said. "You've got a great guy here to have a baby with."

"Thanks, Marshall," Lily said as she grinned at him. It took a good twenty minutes to hug everyone in the room. So many of Lily's family and friends were there, including all of the D.A.A., as it was supporting Scorpius' baby, too. It didn't hurt that Lily was related to a good many of them.

"Rose, wow, Tabby's so big," Lily cooed as she looked at the fat little four-month old in Rose's arms. "I can't believe it!"

"Neither can we," Billy said as he slid his arm around Lily in a side-hug.

"You know what would be funny?" Rose laughed as she took her turn hugging her cousin. Lily looked at her in confusion as Rose looked down at Tabby meaningfully before looking back at Lily. Lily's eyes shot open wide.

"Don't you dare say it, Rose," Lily threatened as she laughed.

"I'm only saying," Rose said shrugging as she snuggled Tabby in her arms. "It would be pretty funny if you went into labor at _your_ baby shower, since you cursed me with the same."

"I am not having my baby today," Lily laughed. "But nice try, Rose."

"We'll see," Rose tormented.

Lily enjoyed her surprise baby shower, getting all kinds of interesting things for the baby. Everything was in pastels of yellow and green, since Bean's gender wasn't known. Everyone pointed out that Lily and Scorpius were going to have a hard time taming that child, being that already it was a strong willed baby. Lily didn't care. She would take the unruliest child imaginable; so long it was her Bean.

"These ribs are delicious," Lily said grinning at Scorpius as he opened a giant box from his grandmother.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked.

"A travel system. The clerk at the baby store said that all of the babies needed them," Narcissa said dismissively. "The car seat thing snaps into the base that stays in the car and then it snaps into the pram."

"Thank you, Narcissa," Lily said as she looked at her messy fingers.

"Gee, Lily, you'd think you'd never eaten," Scorpius teased.

"Hey, I'm still eating for two, you know!" Lily said as she put the rib down. "I hardly ate anything while everyone was here."

"So, are you looking forward to being a Grandpa?" Harry teased Draco. Draco smirked.

"I'm going to be the coolest Grandpa around," Draco boasted as his hand lightly rested on Lily's stomach. "Isn't that right?"

"Bean's only kicking you to say that I'm going to be the coolest," Harry taunted good naturedly. Draco rolled his eyes.

"You guys got quite a haul," Draco said as he watched his son struggle with putting the stroller together. In frustration, when Lily had her head turned, Scorpius whipped out his wand and constructed the travel system in seconds.

"You know I saw that," Lily said as she wiped her hands off on a napkin. She winced slightly, setting her plate down.

"Are you ok, Lily?" Harry asked her as his hand touched Lily's bare arm. Lily waited a moment before she smiled.

"I'm fine," Lily said cheerfully.

"She has those darn Braxton-Hicks things," Scorpius said glancing up at her carefully.

"You sure you're not going into labor?" Draco teased. Lily laughed and jabbed him lightly in the shoulder.

"Don't be like Rose, Draco," Lily warned playfully.

"Rose predicts Lily'll have the baby today, because Lily cursed Rose with it for her own baby shower," Scorpius laughed as he picked up the little car seat. "The baby is really going to fit in this little thing?"

"Trust me, son," Narcissa said laughing. "When your mom had you, I swear Draco thought it was too big. Babies aren't very big, usually."

"Not Scorpius' baby," Lily laughed as she rubbed Bean through her dress. "I swear this kid is about the size of a small horse."

"Did you get many stretch marks?" Narcissa asked curiously. Lily shook her head.

"A few, but nothing that'll keep me from wearing a two piece once I lose the weight, isn't that right, Bean?" Lily said as she caressed her baby. Bean squirmed.

"Bean's cramped, huh?" Harry asked as he rested his hand on his youngest child's stomach.

"Four more weeks," Lily sighed. "I don't know how I will ever make it."

"Lily's still working, though I was able to talk her down to part time," Scorpius said. He hesitated. "We do want to tell you guys now that we're alone that Lily and I are dating again."

"Good, it's about time," Draco said.

"Though ideally, it'd be nice to have you two properly married," Narcissa hinted lightly as she looked away. Lily rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but Scorpius beat her to the retort.

"Gram, baby steps, huh?" Scorpius taunted as he looked at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Still, you two are having a baby together," Narcissa said. "I mean, even if Lily takes the job at Hogwarts, you could floo to work from wherever you two lived."

"So, how are we going to get all of this stuff home?" Lily asked as she changed the subject.

"House elves," Draco suggested. Scorpius held up a funny box.

"What in the world is this for?" Scorpius asked.

"It gets milk out of the breasts, Scorpius," Narcissa said grinning at the red flush that crept across the men's faces. "It would have made feeding Draco easier, certainly, and Infamy had one but Scorpius was addicted to his breast feedings and wouldn't take a bottle. Poor Infamy couldn't leave Scorpius until he was two."

"Yeah, Bean can't do that to me," Lily declared as she prodded her baby. "Mommy has to go back to work in six months from your birth, baby."

"Yeah, I don't think_ you_ get to choose that," Narcissa laughed. Lily shook her head.

"Otherwise, I'm going to be dirt poor and homeless," Lily laughed. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Like I'd ever let you two be homeless," Scorpius said shaking his head.

"Well, anyways, I think we'll be off," Lily said as she suddenly got a wicked look in her eye. Scorpius' eyes widened slightly and he grinned.

"Yeah, indeed, off," Scorpius said as he nodded.

"You two kids have fun," Harry called waving as Lily and Scorpius practically ran from Malfoy manor.

The drive home seemed to last forever, the two of nervously glancing at each other time to time. Lily focused on Scorpius, ignoring the interesting things going on inside of her. Car parked, the two barely made it into the apartment door before their mouths crashed together in a heat of passion. Neither remembered the other tasting so good, their bodies warm. Lily led Scorpius into her bedroom, gently pushing him to sit on the bed.

"So, earlier, the dream, what was I wearing?" Lily asked.

"Black l-lacy bra," Scorpius stuttered slightly as Lily began to disrobe.

"Like this?" Lily asked coyly as she walked near him.

"Yeah," he breathed as he claimed his prize.

The two were still, their heart beats still racing. It was done, over with. They had come together as one once more, and completed the deed. Lily was grinning, the heat radiating off of every surface of her body as she lay in Scorpius' arms. It was dark in the bedroom, but Lily could see the glow of the setting sun out in the living room through her open bedroom door.

"I love you," Lily breathed as she turned to kiss him before trying to pull free.

"Where are you going?" Scorpius asked.

"To use the loo," Lily laughed as she stood up. She returned a few minutes later, still very much naked. She stood unabashedly in front of him, vulnerable, her pregnant body practically glowing in the bedside light that Scorpius had flipped on.

"Hope you washed your hands," Scorpius said laughing. Lily raised her hands to show him and the sound of a bursting water balloon replied.

"Oh," Lily said with her eyes wide. Scorpius looked a little confused.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius said as Lily's hands went to her stomach.

"I… I either just wet the floor or my water broke," Lily said. She growled. "Damn that Rose!"

"The baby?" Scorpius said excitedly as his hand touched her stomach.

"Yeah," Lily said sighing excitedly as she glanced around for her dress. "It looks like tonight, we are going to become parents."

"Oh! Oh! Get dressed!" Scorpius said hurriedly as he pulled on his sock and shoes. "I'll call everyone and you just do whatever you have to do. Time things and whatever."

"Calm down, Scorpius," Lily said shaking her head. "These things take time. There's no rush."

"How can you be so calm?" Scorpius asked as he ran back and forth, grabbing Lily's hospital bag while Lily took her time getting dressed. She glanced at the clock.

"It's like 7 at night, almost," Lily told him. "The baby won't be born until tomorrow."

"You don't know that," Scorpius said. Lily stopped him, cradling his face in her hands.

"Calm… shh… calm…" Lily breathed slowly. "Shall I play the piano to calm you down?"

"We really don't have time to play the piano, Lily," Scorpius said as he itched to get calling and moving. A contraction hit Lily. She clutched his hand, breathing slowly as she counted and then released.

"They're not so bad," Lily said as she picked up the phone. She dialed her father's cell phone number, the stupid thing going to voice mail. "Hey Dad, it's Lily. I just wanted to let you know that I will be killing Rose and Draco for cursing this upon me. In case you haven't figured it out, I broke my water and I'm going to be heading to the hospital here in a bit. Talk to you later."

A few more phone calls later, including one where Lily sat at the piano playing while Kate went on and on about various things before Lily could get out that she was labor, Lily was taking her merry sweet time heading out to the car while Scorpius seemed hell bent on rushing her. Lily rolled her eyes, though she had to admit that the contractions were getting a little more painful and a little closer together. The two of them were checked in and in a room by nine thirty that evening. By ten that evening, almost everyone from the baby shower had returned to participate in the joyous occasion.

"You do know, I will be cursing Weasley Twins on you, Rose Meyers," Lily taunted from her bed.

"Are you in pain?" Scorpius asked in concern. Lily cringed and fought back tears as another big one clenched down on Lily.

"I can't believe you are doing this without muggle medicine," Rose said shaking her head.

"Meh, I just want to try to have as natural birth as possible," Lily said shrugging. "Though these things are so painful."

"Can I get you anything, love?" Scorpius asked as he wiped Lily's forehead. Lily shook her head weakly.

"No, but I want to let you know this, Scorpius Malfoy," Lily groaned as another contraction hit her. "I swear to God, Merlin, and everyone in this hospital, if you ever get me pregnant again and we're not married, I swear I'll kill you myself."

"You want to get married?" Scorpius and Rose both said in unison. Their voices both mirrored the shock. Lily cried out in pain as the doctor entered the room.

"So, Lily, it looks like Bean's decided to come a few weeks early," Dr. Schmidt said lightly as he donned a pair of gloves. He glanced at the clock. "Let see what your little shy one is doing down there."

"Ok," Lily panted as she let the doctor check.

"You're about seven," Dr. Schmidt said as he looked at the clock. "I'd say about three or four in the morning."

"That's still like four or five hours away," Scorpius said nearly hysterical. "She's in a lot of pain."

"Do you want something to take the edge off of that?" Dr. Schmidt asked. Lily shook her head as she gripped the bed rail tightly and fought the pain that threatened to consume her. Harry and Draco looked at Lily concerned.

"Lily, please reconsider," Scorpius begged her. "Get a little bit of something."

"No, I can do this," Lily cried in desperation as she let another contraction silence her.

"Does it hurt a lot, Lils?" Scorpius asked quietly as he brushed her hair out of her face. She glared at him.

"You did this to me!" Lily growled at him as another contraction ripped through her as Dr. Schmidt walked back in at ten to midnight. He chuckled and checked her.

"Are you ready to push? You're at ten," Dr. Schmidt said.

"Yes," Lily growled.

"But I thought that you said not until three," Scorpius said.

"Shut the hell up and get this demon out of me," Lily cried as her body arched slightly with the next contraction.

"Start pushing, Lily," Dr. Schmidt said as Scorpius allowed Lily to crush his hand. "One… two… three…"

"Count faster damn it!" Lily cried through gritted teeth.

"Five… six… seven…" Dr. Schmidt continued without missing a beat. "Eight… nine… ten. Ok, take a deep breath and let's do that again."

"It hurts!" Lily wailed.

"I know it does sweetie, but the baby will be here soon," Narcissa said as she slipped into the room. She headed over to Lily's side and took Lily's other hand.

"She's going to crush your hand," Scorpius warned her warily as he looked a little pale, sweat beading up on his forehead.

"Let's go again," Dr. Schmidt said. He glanced at the monitors as she pushed. Three or four more pushes, with short rests in between.

"Is she making progress?" Narcissa asked quietly as Dr. Schmidt let Lily take a quick breath.

"She's small," Dr. Schmidt said referring to Lily's pelvic bone. "It's going to be a tight fit, Lily. Do you want to continue?"

"I want this baby naturally," Lily cried as another intense contraction hit. Lily started pushing and the monitors started blaring.

"Doctor, the baby's heart rate just dropped to sixty," the nurse said in a panic. Lily's eyes shot open wide and she stopped pushing as one of the nurses jerked an oxygen mask over Lily's face."Don't push, Lily," Dr. Schmidt yelled at her. "The cord had prolapsed."

"Prolapsed?" Scorpius asked.

"The cord proceeded the baby," Narcissa explained with a very worried look. "If Bean isn't born like now… it's not going to be good."

"Lily?" Scorpius asked as she fought to control her own panic.

"Do whatever it takes," Lily yelled as another contraction tore through her. She was already being whisked off to the OB operating room. Scorpius was pulling on the gear that the nurses were handing him. He didn't stop to explain anything to the big crowd that had gathered in anticipation of the baby's birth. There was no need. There was a trail of blood pouring out and pooling, bright crimson and quite terrifying.

"The baby's in trouble," Narcissa said wearily as she stood in front of the family, ignoring as the cleanup crew began mopping up all of the blood left behind.

"Lily, everything is going to be ok," Dr. Schmidt promised her as he patted her head. "I'm going to have Dr. Davis put you to sleep and I am going to save your baby."

"Ok," Lily whispered as Dr. Davis covered her face with a new mask. "Scorpius?"

"I'm right here, baby," Scorpius said as he came into view. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right. I'm here."

"I love you," Lily said as sleep hit her suddenly like a ton of bricks. Scorpius looked up uncertainly as Dr. Schmidt stepped up to Lily's unconscious body.

"Don't worry son," Dr. Schmidt said reassuringly. "Your baby will be here in a matter of…"

Lily and the baby's heart rate monitors both flat lined.


	47. An Epic Epilogue

**Disc.:** I created the plot, and I admit it.

* * *

**An Epic Epilogue**

Lily felt as if everything on her weighed a ton. She could hear the soft whispers of voices just beyond her reach. It was warm, almost too warm, and she wanted to tell the people to quit whispering. She needed them to speak up so she could make sense of things. She struggled with very heavy eyelids as she fought to regain consciousness.

"Scorpius?" Lily said in an unfamiliar, raspy voice. She was so thirsty, her mouth felt like it was full of cotton and her throat felt like sand paper. "Scorpius?"

"Hey, baby, I'm here," Scorpius said quietly as he touched her face gently. He stroked her cheek for a minute. "You gave us a right terrifying scare. I should tell your dad that you're awake, love."

"Bean?" Lily said as her hand automatically went to her stomach. It felt like an old, empty balloon. Pain shot across her at her stapled wound and she gasped, Scorpius pulled her hands back.

"Bean is ok, Lily," Scorpius breathed excitedly in her ear. "Perfect. Wonderful."

"Is… anything wrong with…" Lily struggled to form the words though her voice was stronger. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Perfectly healthy, Lils," Scorpius said. "See for yourself."

Lily watched as Scorpius took a tiny bundle from his grandmother and brought it to Lily's arms. He tucked the small baby in, careful to mind Lily's wound and to support Bean's head. Lily looked down at her child in awe, a tuft of strawberry blond hair peeked out from under a white cap. It's eyes were closed tight as Bean slept. The baby's mouth was puckered slightly and Bean made a few sucking motions.

"Oh, Scorpius," Lily breathed as she kissed her baby's face gently. Tears spilled down her face.

"Lily… we have a son," Scorpius said thickly. Lily looked up at him through her watery gaze, not surprised to find Scorpius crying too. It was the perfect moment.

"Welcome to the world, Theron Colton Malfoy," Lily breathed after a moment. The baby stirred, opening his big blue eyes and looking right at his mother.

"Theron?" Scorpius asked. The baby looked at him.

"It means _'untamed'_, and I truly believe Theron will be untamable, as everyone has said," Lily said. The baby stirred and turned towards Lily, drawing one of his fists to his mouth.

"Wow, look at that," Scorpius said quietly. "He knows your voice."

"Yours too," Lily commented as the baby made a tiny crying noise.

"Sure, he knows me so he cries," Scorpius teased in a slightly loud whisper. Dr. Schmidt walked in, grinning as the family had itself a little reunion.

"You two gave us a scare there for a minute," Dr. Schmidt said. "Thank GOD it was just the monitors unhooking themselves. I swear that little boy of yours is trouble, and born on April Fool's Day, at that."

"Today is April Fool's Day?" Lily asked laughing.

"Well, yea, though it's more like April Fool's early evening, now, why?" Scorpius asked. Lily laughed.

"My Uncle George, the one that owns the joke shop, was born on April the first, too," Lily laughed. Scorpius laughed and groaned all in the same breath. He turned to his son.

"Son, now don't give your mother and me the hard time that your Great Uncles George and Fred gave Great Grandma Weasley," Scorpius said. The baby made a grunting noise and Lily laughed harder.

"We're screwed," Lily laughed.

"We certainly are," Scorpius said shaking his head. "So, I have a son named Theron Colton Malfoy? What a long, complicated, but sophisticated name."

"We can call him T.C. for short," Lily assured him. Scorpius grinned.

"I like that. The great T.C., stopping in from his rather hellish birth from the beautiful and intelligent mother, Lily Luna Potter," Scorpius teased. The baby fussed.

"Should I feed him?" Lily asked. Dr. Schmidt nodded.

"They've been feeding him formula in the nursery, but you should be fine to try breast feeding now," Dr. Schmidt assured her ash he poked around on her midsection. "I'm happy to say that you will pull through this spectacularly and T.C. is perfectly healthy and normal."

"How much does he weigh?" Lily asked as she positioned the baby to feed.

"Eight pounds, four ounces," Scorpius said chuckling. "Could you imagine how much he'd weigh if you had gone to forty weeks?"

"Yes, and the poor guy's head was already too fat to fit down you birth canal," Dr. Schmidt said. "The umbilical cord slipped by and begun to tear the placenta away from the uterine wall, so you lost a lot of blood. We gave you three or so pints, to replace what you lost."

"Thank you Dr. Schmidt," Lily said as the man nodded and started heading out the door.

"I'm just glad that all of the surprises that I am going to be here for are done," Dr. Schmidt said grinning. "You two have a lovely baby. Congratulations, you two."

"Thank you, doctor," Scorpius said. Lily's eyes were already back on her baby. Lily and Scorpius were in love, with each other, certainly, but now with this new little helpless being.

* * *

It was late, but it didn't matter. Lily lay in her bed, cradling Theron in her arms. His eyes were closed and he was nearly asleep, having devoured his middle of the night meal. Lily hesitated as Scorpius rolled over, looking at her sleepily. He looked at the two, mother and son, before he touched his son's cheek.

"Why didn't you wake me?" Scorpius asked sleepily.

"You have work in the morning," Lily said as she adjusted the baby over her shoulder to burp him. "Plus, I was just thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" Scorpius asked as he grabbed the wipes and the diapers off the side table, taking the now drowsy baby. Theron yawned with a slight squeak as Scorpius changed his diaper.

"Um… I don't know if I want to talk about it," Lily said quietly. He looked at her curiously.

"You can't say something like that and then not want to tell me about it," Scorpius said as he snapped the tiny snaps of Theron's footie pajamas. He climbed out of bed and carried the infant into the other room, tucking him in the cradle. Scorpius came back into the room, looking at her.

"You'll laugh," Lily said.

"I promise, I won't laugh," Scorpius said as he climbed back into bed. He looked at Lily purse her lips together as if she intended on keeping her secret. "How about I guess?"

"You'll never guess," Lily said smugly.

"Still, humor me," Scorpius said.

"Fine, try to guess," Lily said crossing her arms.

"Ok, this is about Theron," Scorpius said. Lily hesitated.

"In part," Lily said.

"And your job," Scorpius said. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Somewhat," Lily said.

"You don't want to go back to work, at all," Scorpius said smugly. Lily's eyes widened, surprised that he had, indeed guessed enough of it.

"I just don't know that six months will be enough time with him," Lily said quickly. "I mean the past four have sped right by, and if I take the Hogwarts job, I'd have to go settle in at the end of the month."

"Well, you know, you'd not have anything to worry about if you were Mrs. Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius joked. "I mean then the decision would be easy. You'd be my wife; you'd know everything that I do at work, within reason of course, and you'd have no reason to work."

"Yeah, that's kind of what I was getting at," Lily said quietly as she focused on her hands.

"Wait, you want to get married now?" Scorpius asked slowly.

"Kind of, yeah," Lily said. She remained with her eyes averted.

"Well, if you want to so you don't have to go back to work, you know I'll do anything you want to do. Whatever makes you happy," Scorpius said quietly. Lily looked up at him in horror.

"I don't want to get married just because I don't want to go back to work," Lily said frowning.

"You don't?" Scorpius said with guarded excitement. "Why do you want to suddenly get married?"

"It's not suddenly," Lily admitted as she looked back down at her hands.

"The delivery room," Scorpius said as his eyes widened. "You were hinting towards it, weren't you? When you threatened that if I got you pregnant again and we weren't married. I forgot about that."

"I didn't," Lily said. She dared a look at him. "I kind of thought you would have asked me by now."

"Lily," Scorpius said grinning. "You aren't kidding, are you, because that would really break my heart?"

"No," Lily said. He cheered and jumped up. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back," he said breathlessly. She heard the front door open and she curiously wondered where he had gone. She pulled her blanket straight across her hips as Scorpius appeared in her door way.

"Where did you go?" Lily asked.

"Shh," Scorpius said as he ran across the room to her, pulling her up off the bed by the hand. He kneeled before her and held up a box to her. "Lily Luna Potter, I have loved you for more years than should count, but the one thing I always wanted and feared I'd never have was you eternally mine. Will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

"Are you asking me to marry you?" Lily asked suddenly. "Here? Now?"

"Yes, Lily, I am asking you to marry me," Scorpius said as he held onto her hand and held up the box. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Yes, yes I'll marry you, Scorpius," Lily said excitedly. Scorpius jumped up and embraced her, crushing her lips below his.

"You have made me the happiest man, over and over again," Scorpius said as he pulled away. He flipped the box open and nervously slid the ring on her finger.

"It's so beautiful," Lily said as she looked at the ornate ring.

"I picked it up several years ago, when we first started dating," Scorpius said. "I saw it and knew that I had to have it, just in case you ever changed your mind and agreed. I couldn't think of it being on anyone else's finger."

"It's perfect," Lily agreed.

"So, we have some choices to make, don't we?" Scorpius said as he effortlessly pulled her back into bed.

"Choices?" Lily asked.

"Well we can't very own two apartments, unless we expand it to be one great one," Scorpius said as he tucked Lily against his body, it fitting perfectly as if Lily and Scorpius were made for each other.

"I was thinking a little house outside of the city, so Theron could have somewhere to run and play when he gets a little bigger," Lily said.

"Oh, so my Little Lily is going all white picket fence on me," Scorpius teased as he pressed his lips to her hair. "It's cute."

"Very funny," Lily laughed.

"Next you're going to tell me that you want to have more kids with me, too," Scorpius laughed.

"Not right away," Lily said hesitantly. Scorpius froze for a minute, a smile crossing his face.

"You want to have another baby with me?" Scorpius said grinning.

"Quit grinning like a Cheshire cat, Score," Lily said rolling her eyes. "One step at a time."

"So, marriage, Lily?" Scorpius said.

"Yeah," Lily said. "I kind of like the way Lily Malfoy sounds."

"Then a house in the suburbs?" Scorpius asked.

"With a white picket fence," Lily confirmed.

"And eventually another baby?" Scorpius asked.

"I was thinking, if the baby is a girl, we'll name her after our mothers," Lily confirmed. "Infamy Ginevra Malfoy, I think."

"Pretty," Scorpius said.

"Mmhm," Lily murmured.

"Our families will be happy," Scorpius said sleepily.

"Who would have ever thought," Lily yawned. "With the way our fathers went on in school, I bet no one ever thought it was possible, even with a Potter being a Slytherin."

"Amazing isn't it?" Scorpius said as the two of them drifted back to sleep. "A Malfoy and a Potter fell so completely in love."

* * *

**A/N:** And so my friends, that is all she (erm, I) wrote! We made it to 500 reviews and surpassed that (congratulates to Bookworm2009 for getting #500). I have really enjoyed writing this; I have enjoyed reading the reviews just as much. I am going to take off the next couple of days from writing (I will reply to reviews), in preparation of NaNoWriMo. I may or may not post that story under my fictionpress account (the link is on my front page). You guys were fantastic. I will close the poll now so you can really see that you guys voted for Lily and Scorpius' baby's name. Thank you so much for sharing this experience with me and I will be back in December with a new fanfiction so be sure that you stay vigilant. To all my readers, Happy Halloween, and to my American readers Happy Thanksgiving (since I won't be around in November).

Oh, and I might… might… might… post the chapters that were cut… but probably not. They were good, but this story is done (though it could go on from there). I mean, I could talk about what happens next, or even the next generation from that, but yeah. For now, this is…

…

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The End


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